Guardian of an Angel
by Grogert331
Summary: Roxas must save Naminé from a paralysis, the cure is a flower that is in a far away forest. And to wrap it up there's an army of Heartless heading for the town. AU Pairings: Namixas, Squiffie, SorKai, Clorith, Riku x OC Please Read & Review. first fic
1. Pancake Monster

I don't own nothin'; 'cept the monster.

POV: Roxas

I walked along the beach wall gate that led into Traverse Village; I kept watch over a young angelic maiden walk barefoot along the shoreline of the lake. She wore a white dress that stopped just above her knees. Her blonde hair blowing in the soft wind, her name is Naminé.

I watched her gaze into the horizon of the lake water and the setting sun.

I was against her decision to walk outside the village. When I asked why she wanted to do this; she answered, "I…I just need some time to clear my thoughts, alright?"

'_What is it that she needs to clear her mind of?'_

My mind began to drift off into the depths of my mind. I drifted to what I knew about what was in this area, like a monster that reminded the locals of pancakes. I remember that it is able to swallow a person whole and it paralyzes them to make the victim be able to be digested easier. I suppose that's why the townspeople built this gate, to keep the pancake monsters out.

I chuckled a bit at that thought, 'who thought to call them pancake monsters?'

I adjusted my leather armor a bit. It was really light compared to

My thoughts then turned to my objective: to transfer Naminé from Twilight Village to the Radiant Garden Palace safely.

I considered this to be a bit of a high priority mission; so helping me was the sword sage Leon, the grand ninja Yuffie, the soldier Cloud, the cavalier Riku, and my fellow swordsman Sora; they're all probably at the inn celebrating or something like that.

I shook my head, '_Roxas; you've got to protect Naminé!'_

I looked back to where I last saw Naminé. I didn't see her any trace of her angelic features. I saw the one thing that was the reason for building this wall.

It was the pancake monster. It was retreating from where Naminé used to be.

I drew my sword. I jumped from the gate wall. I felt the wind rush past my face. As I landed I ignored the throbbing pain in my legs and just focused on saving Naminé.

I sprinted to the monster; I noticed there was an outline of something inside the thing.

_That _must_ to be Naminé!_

I leapt at the monster. I stabbed at the edges of the monster, where I wouldn't hit Naminé. After a couple of stabs the creature began to writhe and squeal, and then it settled down to a deathly silence.

I then sheathed my sword and took out my dagger. I cut open the upper portion of the monster. I folded the flap of flesh back. I saw her, the princess. I was supposed to protect her. I failed.

Her skin is deathly pale. Naminé is paralyzed.

I began to cry, tears flowing down my face. I screamed "Somebody, anybody, help! Help us!" I then picked up both Naminé as well as horrid creature, and ran. I ran straight to the town healer.

I burst into the house; she turned her head from the book she was reading.

I panted out, "Heal her, Now!

R & R


	2. Healer's Orders

This is my first story and it's about a dream that I had a while ago. Also here is the long chapter! This Chapter was edited by SimpleNClean92.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the KH/ KH2 characters except for the dead pancake like monster.

* * *

POV: Roxas 

I was forced to wait outside the healing area. I just kept pacing back and forth in a straight line. And when I wasn't doing that, I was sitting down on a stool, staring at the flap to the healing area.

Kairi, Aerith's top healing trainee, came out of the flap with a glum look on her face. She said, "Miss Aerith wants to see you." With that she held the flap open for me.

I got up from my sitting position and walked into the healing room with an anxious spirit. When I saw Naminé, I felt a pang of guilt in my heart.

My thoughts of guilt were interrupted when Aerith asked me to take a seat. I took a seat next to Naminé's bedside.

Aerith sighed, standing in front of me, and began with, "The good news is that she's only paralyzed."

"And the bad news is?" I asked as I braced myself for the answer.

"The bad news is that I don't have the Heart Blossom needed to neutralize the poison that made her this way. It-"

"Can't you just use a supplement or something?!" I interrupted, "This is the Princess of the Land of Kingdom Hearts!" I began to cry, "If you don't cure her…" I just broke down; I couldn't speak as I cried into my gloved hands.

Aerith continued, "The cure can only be found in an oasis northeast of here, past the Heartless Desert, in the Forest of Nobody. Plus, if I don't have that blossom I can't guarantee that her condition will get better, in fact, whether or not I do apply the best supplement I can offer, her condition may stay this way forever!"

That last word made me look up in both surprise and terror. The very thought of Naminé being in this condition for the rest of her life made me quiver with fear.

"How soon do you need it?" I asked, with my new objective in mind.

"Oh no, you're not going any where in your condition!" answered Aerith.

"I don't care whether or not I have broken arm or if I'm near death. I'm going to save Naminé from this paralysis!" I yelled back as I stood up. Suddenly I cringed in pain as I felt my right ankle fail me and let me fall to the floor.

"OW!"

Aerith just stood there staring at with a smirk on her face. She sighed, "You were saying?"

"Alright, I'll stay but only until I'm well enough to walk," I said, gritting my teeth as I stood up.

"It's a deal. Now get on that bed so your injury can be tended to," Aerith said as she pointed to the bed next to Naminé.

After much pain and misery, my injury was tended to. But, I was ordered to bed rest for three days.

Sora and company came to visit me. I had to put on a fake smile to hide my own disappointment in myself. When Cloud met Aerith he just blushed and walked past; just as Sora did when he walked past Kairi. I just smiled at both Cloud and Sora. Then I heard both Leon and Yuffie arguing about who was the better fighter, as usual. The noise level had gotten too high for Aerith, so she shooed everybody out after all the hellos and goodbyes were said. I told them that I would give them an update after I could walk. After everyone left, I looked over to where Naminé was and sighed. I whispered over to her, "Naminé, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect you like I was supposed to. Can you ever forgive me?"

The silence stabbed me like a dagger in the gut. As I began to drift into the land of sleep, I wondered, _What is this warm fuzzy feeling next to the pang of guilt? Why does it make think of Naminé?_ I brushed this thought aside as I dreamt of deserts with terrible pancake monsters that paralyzed angels, and of flowers that were far away in strange forest…

To be continued…

* * *

So what did you think? And please give me some ideas on how to continue this story. 

I must also thank SimpleNClean92 for editng my chapter's for me.


	3. Who

This is my first story and it's about a dream that I had a while ago. This Chapter was Edited by SimpleNClean92.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the KH/ KH2 characters (Lawyers are evil!)

* * *

POV: Roxas 

As I stirred from my slumber, I remembered where I was. I was in the healing area with Naminé.

I felt sudden pain in my chest, right where my heart was.

_Why? _I thought, w_hy must I suffer this massive pain of guilt when ever I think of her?_

I was jostled out of it when the flap opened to reveal Kairi. She noticed I was awake and said, "Good morning…um…" She gestured to me, showing she forgot my name.

"Roxas," I said.

"Good morning Roxas." She smiled. "How are you today? Would you like some breakfast?"

I yawned. "I'm fine, but I'm not really that hungry. I'll just have some eggs, please."

"Ok, if that's all you want to eat. Oh, before I forget to ask, what was the name of your cute friend with the spiky brown hair?"

"Oh, you mean that crazy goof Sora?"

"I guess so. And by the way, if you tell him I said that he was cute, I'll have to break all of the bones in your body."

"My lips are sealed," I said, smirking.

Then she left to go get breakfast.

I then closed my eyes and continued my sulking.

"_Roxas._"

I opened my eyes and looked around looking for the source of the voice. I didn't see anybody, and looked over at Naminé. Then I reached out to her. Then I said, "Naminé, when I get out of here, I swear on this beating heart and soul that I'll bring you that cure if it is the last thing I do."

The rest of the day went by slowly. However, Aerith stopped by to check on both Naminé and I. While she was tending to my injury, she asked, "Roxas, what is the…"

"His name is Cloud. And it's obvious that you like him," I interrupted.

"I do not like him!" she denied as she began to blush.

I just smirked in response to her blush and said, "Of course you don't."

Also later on in the day Cloud and Sora came by for a visit. Sora was about to ask when I answered, "Their names are Kairi and Aerith," I said while pointing at Sora first then Cloud.

"Oh, well um… thanks, I guess," Sora replied back.

"We should probably get going. Well, get better soon, 'cause Riku is just itching for a fight with the only person, other than Leon and I, who could beat him. Plus, someone needs to cool both Leon and Yuffie down somehow," Cloud said as he dragged Sora away from asking anymore questions.

Later that evening I had tried to read a book, but I heard that voice again. This time I was sure that I wasn't hearing things.

"_Roxas."_

I looked up from my book and looked around for the source of the voice again. I still didn't see anyone. However, every time I heard that voice, I thought of Naminé. I got up from my position, put the book down on the desk, and limped over to Naminé. I grasped her hand with both of mine.

"I keep the promises I make, Naminé. I made a promise to the King of Kingdom Hearts: that I would bring you to your father safely. However, I made a new promise: that I would bring you the cure to this paralysis. I just hope that you can forgive me after all of this is over."

It was then that I could've sworn I felt her hand very briefly grasp mine. I just stood there like a dumbstruck idiot; I didn't know how to react, whether or not to yell in joy or just brush it off and say to myself "I'm going crazy!"

Instead of doing either of those, I brought the back of her hand up to my mouth and kissed it. I then limped back to my bed, smiling. But, before I could reach it, I bumped into the nightstand next to her bed and knocked a flower vase over onto the floor. The vase had shattered on impact, to reach my bed I had to limp around it. Once I finally got to bed, I fell asleep with much lighter shoulders.

* * *

So what did you think? I must also thank SimpleNClean92 for editng my chapter's for me. 


	4. The Final Day

This is my first story and it's about a dream that I had a while ago.

Also this chapter was edited by SimpleNClean92. Without further ado, here's the long chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the KH/ KH2 characters (Lawyers are evil!)

* * *

POV: Roxas 

I awoke to find Aerith cleaning up the broken vase from last night. I noticed a single beautiful pink rose behind her ear.

"Did Cloud give you that?" I asked, pointing to the rose.

First she jumped in surprise. Then she replied back with blush, saying, "Don't do that! And yes, as a matter of fact, he did give it to me. Kairi also got something, a huge bouquet of Firaga Lilies that were from-"

"Let me guess, Sora," I answered.

"Why yes, as a matter of fact, they were," Kairi said as she walked into the healing area.

"It's good to see that Mr. Romeo is feeling a lot better, especially from his little trip last night," Aerith said as a comeback to my rose remark, as she giggled with Kairi.

I felt my face turn a very deep crimson. I quickly changed the subject, "So, today's the final day right? I'll be able to leave?"

Both of the girls stopped giggling at me. Aerith answered, "Yes you'll be able to leave. But, you need to take it easy the first couple days." Then she said good bye and told Kairi to come and help her get the rest of my gear.

When they finally left I thought, _Maybe I should get Naminé something._ I tried to recall from our trip to this town what she did and said she liked to do.

Flashback

_"Sir Roxas, isn't that the most beautiful sunset you've ever seen?" Naminé said as she pointed toward the setting sun._

_Instead of looking at the sunset I was looking at Naminé. I responded with, "Yeah, beautiful."_

_"I wish I could draw this in my sketch book, but it's filled with other drawings, there's no room."_

End of flashback

_That's it!_ I thought in my mind, _I can get her a sketch book!_

Before I could expand on the idea, Aerith and Kairi came in with my gear. Aerith spoke to me first as both she and Kairi gave me my gear,"If you plan on leaving to go get the Heart Blossom, take at least one person with you. The journey will be very dangerous, and besides, I'm pretty sure that your friends don't want to find you dead."

"And since we've done so much for you, you have to do something for us," Kairi said. With a smirk upon both her and Aerith's faces, Kairi continued,  
"We want you to give Sora and Cloud these."

Kairi held out what appeared to be a charm that was shaped like a star made out of thalassa shells, and Aerith held out a red ribbon.

"Hmm, I think I know someone who can help you better than I can," I said.

"And just who would that be?" asked Aerith.

* * *

"Yuffie, open the door! I have some people here who are in need of your expertise," I said as I banged on the door to Yuffie's room. 

"Who is it?" I heard Yuffie ask in one of her 'Let's play a game!' voices.

"It's the guy who'll tell Leon that it was a certain female ninja that gave him that horrible haircut," I said in a playfully threatening voice. I could hear Aerith and Kairi giggling behind me.

The door opened slowly to Yuffie. She was wearing a black vest over a black tank top, a black headband, some really short tan shorts, and tan boots. She had a bored look on her face when she said to me,

"Roxas, you take the fun out of everything."

"And then I keep it for myself," I replied with a smirk.

All of the girls giggled at that. Then Yuffie asked, "So, anyway, what do you need?"

"It's not what I need, it's what they need." I replied as I gestured to both Kairi and Aerith.

"Well, step right into my office, and we'll work out the details." Yuffie opened the door to allow Kairi and Aerith to enter. Then, Yuffie just slammed the door in my face.

"This is girl stuff that we're going to be talking about, so go do something else."

That was when I left; deciding to go talk to the rest of the group about what was going to happen next.

* * *

"What?!" yelled Sora in shock. 

"I said, I'm going to go get the cure for Naminé, and I can only bring one person," I said with a nonchalant tone.

"This is crazy! You can't expect two people to stroll through the desert and then march into a forest, looking for an oasis with some stupid flower!" Riku exclaimed in outrage.

"It's funny you should say that, because I was actually going to have you accompany me," I said smugly.

Leon spoke up saying, "I hate to say it but, Riku's right. This is a very dangerous mission for just two people to go on."

Cloud then interjected by saying, " Leon's right. You should at least take someone else with you incase you both get yourselves in trouble."

"Everyone, just shut up!" yelled Yuffie.

"Thank you, Yuffie. Now, I'm not taking anyone else. First of all, who'll defend the town if there aren't enough fighters? Second, there's a small city where Riku and I can rest and restock on supplies. This isn't about my safety; it's about Naminé! It's about getting the cure before she gets any worse! So the answer is no and that's final!" I replied angrily. Everyone just sat there in silence. I took a look around the table. Everyone was avoiding my gaze.

"We leave tomorrow at sunrise. Be ready, or I leave alone."

With that everyone got up and left without saying good bye. Yuffie was the last to leave. Before she left she said to me, "You really like her, don't you?"

I knew exactly who she was talking about. I looked away.

"Just like my mentor said, 'Duty is as heavy as a mountain, but  
death is lighter than a feather.' Don't do this alone Roxas, not for your safety but for Naminé."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not bringing anyone else."

Then she finally left. I just sighed in frustration, thinking, _What am I going to do?_

_"Roxas, be careful."_

I looked up, looking for the voice that had spoken. I didn't see anybody, so I said with a firm voice, "Come out and show yourself, you coward!"

I was answered with silence.

_I must be going crazy!_ I thought to myself, shaking my head.

Then I left to go pack. It was going to be a big day tomorrow.

* * *

That was one long chapter wasn't it? I must thank SimpleNClean92 for editing this chapter. See you readers soon : ) 


	5. Safety Problems & Sandstorms

This is my first story. And this story was edited by SimpleNClean92.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the KH/ KH2 characters except for Dusk and Dawn.

* * *

POV: Roxas 

I stirred from my slumber. I out of my bed and stretched my limbs.

"_Roxas, be careful."_

I looked up to find no one in my room but me. _What is going on?_ I thought in my head.

I went over to where my wardrobe was and pulled out a black cloak with a hood that covered my face with a shadow. I first put my leather armor on under my cloak and my sword over my cloak. Then I walked over to the nightstand to get my black gloves. I found something very strange next to them. I found a yellow star that was the size of my hand, and was attached to a chain. _Where did this come from?_ I thought to myself as I picked it up. It reminded me of Naminé for some reason.

I noticed there was a clip at the end of the chain. I looked down to my sword and noticed there was a loop on the pommel of the sword. I then clipped the chain onto my sword.

_Now I'll always know what I'm fighting for, _I thought to myself.

That was when there was a knock at my door. I opened the door to find Riku. He was wearing the same type of cloak as I was.

"Are you ready, Roxas?" he asked me.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Get the horses prepared, we leave now."

Riku walked away to get the horses ready.

I sighed, saying to myself, "This is going to be a long day."

* * *

I was getting on my horse, Dusk, and Riku was getting on his, Dawn. Once we were on, I said, "Once we start there's no turning back. Are you sure you want to do this?" 

"Hmm, let's see. We're crossing a desert on two horses in order to get some petunia that the princess of this land's life depends on. Gee, what do you think?" he said sarcastically.

I smiled, "Thanks. I owe you big time for this."

With that we set off towards the eastern gate.

When we got there I saw Cloud, Aerith, Leon, Yuffie, Sora, and Kairi standing at the gate. I saw that Cloud had the red ribbon from Aerith wrapped around his left arm and Sora had the charm from Kairi attached to the pommel of his sword. Then I noticed that Cloud and Aerith were holding hands as were Sora and Kairi.

"We came to wish you guys good luck on journey," said Yuffie.

"We also came to tell you that we'll support you in whatever way we can," said Leon.

Cloud continued with, "If you need to contact us use a Gummi Bird."

Sora spoke up, saying, "Also, be careful in Hallow Bastion City, there are a lot of thieves and muggers there."

Aerith said, "And don't worry about Naminé. Kairi and I will give you an update on her condition if worsens or gets better."

"Thank you, everyone, I'll be back as soon as I can, and I'll have that cure for Naminé!" I replied back with confidence.

"And don't worry about him getting into trouble, I'll make sure he doesn't get into any," Riku said overconfidently.

"Yeah, but you'll be the one finding trouble, and I'll be the one saving your butt," I said as a comeback to his remark.

Everyone either giggled or snickered at that. After all of the laughing was done everyone said their goodbyes. Riku and I sent our horses into a galloping sprint towards the rising sun.

_"Roxas, be careful. For me."_

* * *

Our horses were now trotting across the sand with us guiding them northeast. Riku and I were both burning up. 

Riku half-asked and half-whined, "Tell me why we had to wear these _black cloaks through the blazing hot desert _again?!"

"Because it can get very cold at night, and we need to stay warm. And stop complaining, there are some ruins that we can rest in for the night up ahead," I said in frustration.

The ruins were just within view, but still quite a ways away. Riku didn't complain, much, after my answer.

We continued like this in silence for a couple of minutes. Then I heard a quiet whooshing sound, but it kept growing louder. And when I looked behind us, and saw a sandstorm. It was heading our way and would be here in a 55 seconds top.

I heard Riku yell, "RUN!"

I didn't argue with Riku and I sent Dusk into a sprint. Luckily the ruins aren't that that far away, but the storm was closing in; the whooshing sound was at a roar now. I had caught up to Riku and Dawn.

"C'mon, Dusk! It's nearly upon us!" I said into my stallion's ear.

Once Riku and I got inside the ruins we found a cellar and took shelter there with our horses. I closed the door to the cellar just as the sandstorm hit. Darkness covered us like a thick blanket of fog.

"Well, how about rest here 'til the storm passes?" I said to Riku.

So we rested there for a while waiting for the sandstorm to pass. As I was setting up my sleeping area, I heard that disembodied voice again. But this time, it was different.

"_Roxas, I forgive you."_

I gasped thinking, _Naminé! Was that you?! _I was answered with silence. Instead of trying to find out whether or not that voice was Naminé, I drifted off into a deep slumber.

Dream

I was in a white room with many papers with drawings hanging on the walls, and a white table with chairs to match. I walked over to one of the many drawings. I saw a picture of me battling something with what appeared to be two giant keys. I looked at the drawing next to it. It was a picture of Riku charging at someone or something with a blindfold over his eyes.

"Nearly every one of these drawings are of a dream I had," I heard someone say behind me.

I turned around to see who it was. Who I saw was the last person I expected it to be.

"Naminé, you're alright!" I elatedly yelled.

She smiled and nodded her head. Then she said, "I'm alright because of you. Had you not been there I would've been digested by that monster. I am truly grateful."

"But you still got paralyzed, and it's entirely my fault."

Naminé began to giggle. "Roxas, don't understand? I forgave you a long time ago. But, I won't forgive you if you don't come back safely."

I blushed in embarrassment. I replied back with, "Alright, I understand now. But, it's just so great to see you."

"I know, but, that isn't reason you're here. The reason is that I'm trying to warn you that the path ahead of you is a dangerous one, and that you should tread it carefully. Now Roxas, I want you to do something for me. Wake up!"

"Huh?"

"I said WAKE UP!" I heard Riku yell at me.

I opened my eyes to find that I was still in the cellar with Riku.

"C'mon, wake up, sleeping beauty. It's time to go, the storm is over."

I shook my head to get rid of the drowsiness. Then I replied back with, "Then let's get going!"

I got up and opened the cellar door. Once we got outside we got on our horses and headed off towards Hallow Bastion City.

* * *

Man! these chapters are getting long aren't they? I must thank SimpleNClean92 for editing this chapter. See you readers soon : ) 


	6. The Sneezing Criminal

This is my first story. And this story was edited by SimpleNClean92.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the KH/ KH2 characters except for Dusk and Dawn and the 'Somebody in the city'.

POV: Roxas

"Look Roxas, you can see Hallow Bastion city from here!" Riku said.

I looked and saw the city, but there was something strange about it.

"Riku, why do you think there's smoke rising from the city?" I asked as I saw huge puffs of black smoke rising from the city.

"You know what? I really have no idea," Riku said as he answered my question.

"I would suggest that we be careful while we're in the city. Agreed?"

"Agreed. Now, let's go."

We spurred our horses into a nice comfortable jog toward the burning city.

POV: Some girl in the city

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me away from the burning building. That when I saw a wanted poster with my face on it. _Great, not only have I lit 6 buildings on fire, but now I'm a criminal! All I did was sneeze and then I'm a criminal!_ I thought to myself.

"Now I'm going to need a disguise," I said to myself annoyingly.

I cast a _Disguise Self _spell on myself making myself look like a girl with deep blue cerulean eyes, pale skin, and shoulder-length blonde hair. I still had my kung fu shoes, my martial arts pants, my sorceress shirt, my forest green cloak, and my slipcase for my spell book.

"I don't look half-bad. Now, I just hope I don't- Ah AHH CHOO!" I had sneezed before I could finish my sentence.

When I sneezed there was a barrel of water I was using to look at my reflection, now there was a flaming water barrel in front of me.

"Crap!" I said as I ran away from the flaming barrel.

POV: Roxas

"Riku, when we enter the city, don't say anything about the mission to anybody. And if someone asks who we are, lie to them. Don't tell them your real name, or where we came from. Your fake name is Aladdin, and mine is Simba. Got it?" I said to Riku in a hushed voice as we neared the city.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I got it, I've got so much of it, if I get anymore I'll explode!" Riku said to me.

When we did enter the city, we saw many, many shops. I saw peddlers selling exquisite swords to selling rotten fruit. I even saw a peddler trying to sell a stick, a rock, and a dead leaf.

_There are probably an infinite number of rip offs here, _I thought to myself.

"Hey Aladdin, how about you go find us an inn to sleep in? I'll take the horses to a stable."

Riku said as he answered me, "Alright Rox - I mean, Simba."

With that, we split up.

As I was guiding the horses to a stable; I thought, _we're doomed if Riku makes another slip like that._

When I got to the stable, I gave the guy our horses and paid him. I then walked back to the bazaar. I began to look for a sketch pad for Naminé. When I found the peddler who was selling them, I began to browse through the selection. Then a person with a hooded green cloak came up to the stand looking for something to buy as well.

"Ahh…" I looked up to see the shopkeeper duck behind his stand as I also heard the person sound like they were about to sneeze. "…AHH…" I grabbed one of the sketch books and stuffed in my sack just as the person sneezed, "…AHHH CHOOOO."

That was when I turned around to see a _giant fireball _heading straight for me. Luckily I had rolled out of the way just in time. When I got a glimpse of the person who sneezed, I was awestruck. I saw Naminé, but her clothes were different. That was when I noticed the city guards running this way. I ran up to Naminé saying, "Follow me!"

She stared at me at first then nodded her head. After that, we ran into an alleyway; I looked behind us to see if the guards were following us. There were about five city guards following us. When I looked ahead I saw Riku.

"Riku, RUN!"

Riku looked up, saw the guards, and ran with us. I guess we had been pretty lucky so far, until we came to a dead end. I looked around looking for any means of escape. When I didn't see one, I turned and drew my sword saying, "Riku-"

"I'm way ahead of you," Riku said to me, already in his battle stance. We were both standing in front of Naminé, ready to defend her with our lives.

Then one of guards said, "You're all under arrest for the destruction of public property, and the aiding of a known criminal."

I raised my eyebrows at the last reason.

That was when I heard Naminé about to sneeze. "Riku, get down now!" I said as we both dropped to the ground. We dropped to the ground safely just as Naminé sneezed, "AH AHH CHOO!"

I felt a large amount of heat rush over my head. When I looked up I saw the city guards being chased by a giant fireball.

"Bless you, Naminé," Riku said to Naminé.

"Who?" Naminé asked.

"You," I answered.

"Me?"

"Yes you, Naminé."

"No."

"Yes."

"No, as in I'm not this 'Naminé' that you have me confused with."

"Of course you're Naminé. You look exactly like her."

"Look. I. Am. Not. Naminé. I'll prove it to you," Naminé said.

Then in a flash of light from where Naminé stood. In Naminé's place stood an elf girl that looked to be about Riku's age, with peach colored skin, dark brown hair that was in a ponytail, and green eyes.

"I'm Merla Uniqua the Wizard."

So what did you think? I'm going to need some ideas on how to continue this story because I think I'm beginning to experience writers block. I must also thank SimpleNClean92 for editing my chapter's for me.


	7. Merla Uniqua

This is my first story. And this story was edited by SimpleNClean92.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the KH/ KH2/KH3 characters except for Dusk and Dawn and Merla Uniqua.

POV: Roxas

I stood there with my jaw hanging open, and my hood down, as well. I shook my head from the shock, and pointed my sword at Merla in anger for impersonating Naminé.

"Whoa, hold it mister! What did I do to piss you off so much?" asked Merla Uniqua as she fell back in fear of my sword.

"You impersonated Naminé! She is the _Princess of Kingdom Hearts_, and may as well be on her _deathbed_ if I don't get the cure for her!" I yelled in anger.

I raised my blade up to strike, and just as I brought it down there was a loud clang. Riku had blocked my strike with his sword.

"Riku, get out of the way!" I hissed in a furious rage.

"No Roxas, I'm not moving. She is innocent she doesn't even know who Naminé is," Riku said back to me calmly, with his hood down.

"But, she's a criminal and she impersonated Naminé!"

Riku just glared at me at in response. I knew those weren't good enough reasons but, my anger had gotten the better of me for that instant. I calmed down a little.

I turned away, still angry, but not quite as much.

"You do realize that we have to bring her with us now that she's heard our names right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I grumbled, obviously unhappy about it.

"Well, first, we probably need disguises before we head back," Riku said to me and Merla.

"I can take care of that. And I have the perfect disguises in mind," Merla answered.

"You can use any disguise you want, criminal, but you are by no means allowed to use Naminé as your disguise," I said to Merla Uniqua with distaste.

"I figured that out from when you pointed your blade at me. And by the way, I'm not a criminal," Merla said with equal distaste.

"Just do whatever it is you're going to do, and give us disguises." I said.

"Alrighty now! Here we go!" Merla said elatedly, before she began casting a spell, muttering incoherent words.

There was a flash of light. And when I looked at myself, I was surprised to see me wearing a gold and black colored metal armor with a helmet that seemed to streak diagonally upwards. I also noticed that I had a gold colored cape as well. When I looked at Riku, he was wearing armor and a cape as well, except that his armor alternated with silver and blue and a blue cape to go with it. However, his helmet streaked upwards more so. When I looked Merla, I saw a girl in a black and purple armor with a helmet that streaked backwards. Plus, she was wearing a black cape.

"Not bad. But we still need names," I said as a sort of compliment.

"Why can't we just use our old ones?" asked Riku.

"Because, while we were using our old identities we helped a 'criminal' and for that we will be arrested."

"I know some names we can-Ah AHH CHOO!" she sneezed before finishing.

Riku and I ducked for cover. We had done so just in time to feel a rush of heat pass over us.

"Is there anything that you can do about the stupid sneezing? If you sneeze, we'll get caught for sure!" I asked in a mild rage.

"Unfortunately, no. There isn't anything I can do about the sneezing. You see, whenever I sneeze, I sneeze fireballs. I don't know why I do, I just do. And I don't have any control over it. So you're just gonna have to deal with it!" Merla said with distaste towards me and my question.

"Well couldn't you at least-"

"STOP IT YOU TWO! You're giving me a headache," Riku said with annoyance as he stepped between Merla and me.

"So, what are the names that you had in mind for us?" Riku said as he asked Merla.

"Ok, Riku you get the name Tron, I get Ariel, and Roxas - you get Donald."

"What kind of a name is Donald? Why can't I have a name like Ven or something?" I asked.

"You know what, whatever. You can choose whatever name you want, Donald," She answered back to me.

I was about to retaliate when Riku exploded, saying, "Just choose a name and let's go! And NO ARGUING!"

With that we stopped arguing, but she did stick her tongue out at me. I began to wonder, _How much more of this can I take?_ I was beginning to get a headache, myself.

We were back at the inn, resting in our rooms that Riku had bought for the night. I just couldn't get to sleep though, I kept twisting and turning. I couldn't get comfortable for some reason; I knew it wasn't the mattress, the pillows, or the covers either. My mind was restless. _I should try to walk it off_, I thought to myself. So, I got up and put on a shirt and some boots (I was already wearing pants). I went to the roof, it was flat and square. Plus, the stars were out tonight. I thought that I would be able to get some relaxation up on the roof. But when I got there I saw Merla Uniqua. Instead of acting like a jerk to her, like a part of me told me to, I walked up to her. She said with venom, "What do you want, _Roxas_?"

"I want to say that I think that we got off on the wrong foot. And I'm sorry about being a jerk to you."

"And just why should I accept your apology?"

"I don't know. You don't really have a reason to accept it, but, I'm offering it anyway."

"You're right, I don't have a reason. You were the one who pointed your sword at me just because I chose the look of your girlfriend. Naminé is her name, right?"

"She isn't my girlfriend. And I'm the reason that she's paralyzed and practically on her deathbed," I replied calmly.

There was an awkward silence after that.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that the princess was paralyzed. You really like her, don't you?"

"Of course I like her, she's the princess."

"No, I mean that you _like_ her like her."

I felt my face begin to flush. I replied with, "No, I don't. And besides, it would never work. I'm just a mercenary, and she's the princess of an entire kingdom."

"Why should that stop you? Just because a status difference? You know what, I once knew a guy named Hayner he was the poorest of the poor, he had to fight just to survive. I also knew this girl who was the richest of the rich, Lady Olette, but she rejected every suitor that her parents brought up to her. She rejected them because she had already previously met Hayner. He had saved her from a bunch of people that were planning to hold her ransom. But, she never got to thank him so she just called him 'BHK'. Then there was this tournament being sponsored by the nobles as entertainment. Well, you see, they were really sponsoring the tournament as a competition for whoever won got to marry Lady Olette. As you can guess, Hayner entered the tournament, but you see, it wasn't for the money, the power, or just so he could survive. He entered because he loved Lady Olette, and he would do anything for her. Well as you can imagine he made his way through to the finals easily, but so did Seifer, a guy who was just in it for the money and the power. The final match was absolutely intense and went on for what seemed like hours with neither Seifer nor Hayner budging."

I had been sitting and listening with great interest, like a child would with a bed time story.

"When Seifer had finally made the slip up Hayner was looking for, he was down in seconds. And Hayner had finally met Lady Olette, and even though her parents were greatly unhappy with Hayner winning the tournament, they accepted him as part of the family, because both he and Olette loved each other greatly. So tell me, if the poorest of the poor can be loved and accepted by the richest of the rich, why can't you?" she asked as she gestured toward me.

I had no answer to the question, so I answered with silence. That was when she got up and said, "Well, I'm going to bed. Oh, and by the way, I accept your apology, and I have a question. What does Riku like to do?"

"He is quite competitive and likes to train. And by the way, nice story - is it true?"

"You bet it is; I was the one who told the parents to hold a tournament."

I was surprised that she did something like that. It was then that I yawned quite loudly.

That was when she said, "Hey let's get some sleep, it's late and we'll be leaving in the morning."

I said, "I'm with you there. Let's go."

And with that we went to our rooms and fell asleep.

"_Oh Roxas, you loveable fool."_

I do hope that you readers enjoyed that chapter. I'll update the next one when I can. I must also thank SimpleNClean92 for editing this chapter for me. See you soon. : )


	8. Fireballs and Letters

This is my first story. And this story was edited by SimpleNClean92.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the KH/ KH2/KH3 characters except for Dusk and Dawn and Merla Uniqua.

POV: Roxas

I awoke to a pounding on my room door.

"Roxas, wake up! It's time to go!"

"I'm up! I'm up!" I said, shaking away the drowsiness. Then I got up and put on my armor, and equipped my sword to my belt. Then I opened the door to find my armored friends waiting right outside the door for me.

I then responded with, "C'mon, let's go already!"

"Well, good morning to you too. How did you sleep?" asked Riku.

"I slept pretty well, thank you. Oh, and by the way Riku, Merla is going to be riding with you," I said calmly, smirking under my helmet.

"But, what if she sneezes?" exclaimed Riku.

"That won't be a problem; I sent a Gummi Bird yesterday to Aerith to see if she knows any remedies for this sneeze," I answered.

"Uh, hello I'm right here- ah AHH…" she said before Riku put his finger up to her nose, stopping her sneeze.

"Thank you, Riku," Merla said to Riku, probably blushing a little under that helmet.

"We should hopefully get some sort of remedy soon. Well, let's get going; we don't want to linger too long," I said.

And with that we exited the inn to go get our horses.

POV: Sora

I was organizing a cabinet full of herbs for Kairi when I looked outside the window to see a Gummi Bird flying this way. When it landed on the window sill, I noticed there was a note attached to its leg. I got up and began to sneak up to it saying softly, "Come here, little birdie, I'm not going to hurt you. All I want is that little note on your leg. Yah!" I yelled as I leaped at it. However, it heard me coming, and flew away just out of my reach as I fell from the window. Luckily for me, there were bushes under that window, but I fell from the second story window.

"Ah!"

CRASH!

"OW!" I said as I landed in the bushes, not unharmed.

"Are you trying to fly out of windows now, Sora?" asked a familiar female voice sarcastically.

When I looked to see who was talking to me, I saw Kairi, whom was petting the Gummi Bird.

"Kairi, I was organizing the cabinet like you asked me to when that Gummi Bird landed on the window sill. I noticed there was note on it so I figured it was from Roxas. I tried grabbing it but then I fell out the window; and well, here I am."

"Well come on, you lazy bum. Let's go show this to Leon and the others," Kairi said to me as she began to walk away with the bird.

"Kairi, wait up!" I said as I got off from the top of the bushes and ran towards Kairi.

_Roxas was right. Sora is a crazy goof! _She thought.

POV: Leon

Everyone except for Yuffie, who was scouting out the area outside the walls, was in the room where Roxas had told us he was going on his quest.

I began by reading the letter aloud.

"Hey guys,

Riku and I have already made it to the city safely. When we first saw the city, we noticed that some buildings were on fire. Once we got in however, we encountered a person that looked exactly like Naminé. The only thing was that she was a criminal. So, after being chased by many guards; we were trapped in a dead end. Then Naminé sneezed a giant fireball at the guards. After that we found out that it wasn't Naminé who sneezed the fireball, but it was Merla Uniqua the Wizard. She then explained that she couldn't control the sneezing fireballs and that she wasn't a criminal. Then she gave us disguises, since we had just helped a 'criminal.' She is now coming with us on our journey.

Aerith, I was wondering if you would have anything that could prevent, stop, and or get rid of Merla's sneezing problem? Well, I'll hopefully see you guy's soon, and keep defending the town.

Signed,

Roxas."

"A wizard that has fireballs come out when she sneezes …that has got to be the strangest case I have ever heard of. I'll get to work on it right away," Aerith said before she left to find a remedy.

That was when Yuffie barged in panting like she just sprinted around the world.

"Yuffie, are you alright?!" I asked as I went over to her and supported her from falling over.

"I'm fine. But …there's an army…of these …things with huge yellow eyes … that are coming this way …they aren't human either," Yuffie said as she sat down in one of the chairs. "They'll be here …in five days."

"Kairi, go tell Aerith that we need that remedy ASAP. Cloud; go tell the village leader to prepare whatever military forces they have for battle. Sora; get me some paper, a pen, and that Gummi Bird. Yuffie; you stay here. I'll need you to give me as much detail as you can about these 'things' you saw," I said with authority, and with that everyone ran off to do what they were told.

"We don't have much time; I hope that Roxas and the others get back here soon."

"_Me too..."_

When I looked toward the doorway, I could've sworn I very briefly saw a ghost girl with a white dress, pale skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes; she was just standing there, staring at me and Yuffie before she disappeared.

POV: Roxas

As we were exiting the stable, with Merla riding with Riku, we had encountered some guards. Luckily our disguises as knights had worked. Just as we exited the city, Merla sneezed. Unfortunately, she had sneezed toward a bomb stand, which was next to a Chinese Fireworks stand, and across from that was an alcohol stand.

"Crap." we all said just before Riku and I sent Dusk and Dawn into a gallop.

After we had made it quite a bit away from the city, the entrance was blackened with ash.

"I don't think that we'll be welcomed there anymore," Riku said to no one in particular.

"No, you think?" Merla asked sarcastically.

"Let's keep moving; we don't want to get hit by any unexpected sandstorms," I said. ending the conversation by heading northeast.

"_Please hurry, Roxas."_

I do hope that you readers enjoyed that chapter. I'll update the next one when I can. I must also thank SimpleNClean92 for editing this chapter for me. See you soon. : )


	9. You've got Mail!

This is my first story. And this story was edited by SimpleNClean92.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the KH/ KH2/KH3 characters except for Dusk, Dawn and Merla Uniqua.

POV: Roxas

We were at a slow trot in the desert, heading towards some ruins to rest for the night. The city was over a day and a half away. Riku and Merla were talking about what was better, a wizard or a warrior. That was when I saw something high in the sky; it appeared to be a bird. It was coming towards us; once I could see it better I saw that it was the Gummi bird I had sent when we were still in the city. The Gummi bird had landed on my shoulder. I had noticed that there was a tiny pouch and a small letter attached to its leg.

"Hey guys, we got mail," I said as I held up the letter and the tiny pouch. Riku guided Dawn over to Dusk. I gave the pouch to Merla, figuring that the pouch was from Aerith. I then opened the letter and began to read,

"Dear Roxas, Riku, and Merla,

The pouch is filled with Blizzaga Berries. Aerith says that they should take care of Merla's fireballs. She should take one a day and she'll be fine. There are about 4 berries in the bag. But, we have much bigger problems. The first problem is that we have a colossal army of what appears to be yellow-eyed black things with antennas heading toward the village from the east. The second problem is that they'll be here in a week. The third problem is that we don't have enough warriors to mount an effective defense. We need you to get that flower for the princess and get back here as soon as possible. Please, see if Merla Uniqua knows anything about these 'things.'

The princess is doing fine; her condition is the same as when you left.

Signed

Leon."

"This isn't good. I thought they were only a myth! But, if they're not a myth, then that means that …Oh crap!" Merla exclaimed loudly.

"What is it? Do you know something about this army?" Riku asked Merla.

"You bet I know something! You see, they're supposed to be a myth; they're called the 'Heartless.' They are beings that bear no heart."

"That's creative," Riku said sarcastically.

"The darkness in people's hearts; that's what attracts them. And there is darkness within every heart. For example, if one such as you, Riku, yields to the darkness in their heart, they too will become a Heartless. The Heartless can also take the hearts of anybody; but they will still be a Heartless, but in doing so that person who had their heart stolen will become a Heartless as well. The Heartless are always lurking and ever seeking to capture new hearts. At times, if someone with a strong heart and will---be they evil or good---becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own. An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away …A spirit that goes on even as its body fades from existence---for you see; Nobodies do not truly exist at all. But, you see, Nobodies may seem to have feelings, but this is a ruse---they only pretend to have hearts. While Heartless act on instinct; Nobodies function in a higher manner. They can think and plan."

"So what you're saying is that a bunch of heartless are being commanded by someone that is leading them to the village where Naminé the others are?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah, that's just about right," Merla answered.

"We're heading back, now!" I replied back with vigor.

"Roxas stop and think for a second. We came out all this way to get the cure for Naminé; we can't turn back now," Riku said to me.

"Plus, I can teleport us to this village once we get the flower. We'll be there in a second," Merla said, reassuring me.

I responded with, "But, Leon said-"

"I don't care about what Leon said! We're going to get that cure!" Riku said as he interrupted me.

"Now, let's go!" Merla said as she supported Riku.

I then sighed, knowing that I could not turn back now. Then I said, "Let's hurry, I don't want to leave Naminé vulnerable to the Heartless for too long."

With that, we were off at a run, towards the ruins for a small rest.

When we finally got there, I found some paper a pencil and began to write back to Leon.

POV: Leon

It has been two days since we found out about the army of those 'things.' I was helping Cloud and the others with training the troops when I saw a Gummi Bird flying toward us. Sora went crazy, saying that it was from Roxas. But, I knew it wasn't from him, it wasn't the same bird that we sent and it came from the North. Once I got a hold of the letter I saw that it was addressed to Roxas. Then I read it aloud.

"Dear Guardian,

Where is my daughter? She should have been back here at Radiant Garden Palace by now! This is a warning. If you don't bring her back or respond within five days, I will come myself to retrieve my daughter!

Signed,

King Ansem the Wise," I said, grimacing when I finished.

I looked around seeing that everyone else had a glum look on their faces.

"Sora, get me some paper and a pen. Cloud, keep training the troops. Yuffie, I'll need you to help me with an explanation of why the princess isn't at the palace right now," I said with much stress on my mind. Everyone had left to go do what I had told them to do.

"Leon, don't push yourself too hard. You can't take all of the heat, share it. Besides, I'm very sure that Mr. Cold Cloud could take a lot of the heat," Yuffie said to me, trying to get me to smile.

"Nothing ever brings you down, does it?" I asked, being sarcastic with a small smile on my face.

"No, not much does bring me down; unless something bad happens to the ones I love."

"Oh? Just who do you love, and am I one of them?"

"Oh no, you could never be one of the ones I love," Yuffie said sarcastically. "Besides, I meant the family kind of love."

That was when Sora had brought back some paper and a pen, and I began to write a letter to the king, telling him the reason that his daughter wasn't at the palace yet.

I do hope that you readers enjoyed that chapter. I'll update the next one when I can. I must also thank SimpleNClean92 for editing this chapter for me. See you soon. : )


	10. White Room

Wow, chapter 10! I never thought I would get this far! Anyway, this chapter was edited by SimpleNClean92, now for the ugly disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the KH/KH2 characters, I only own Merla Uniqua.

POV: Roxas

I was in that white room again, looking at the pictures on the wall. I saw the one of me fighting with two giant keys, but this time I noticed something; I was wearing the same armor that Merla gave me and Riku! When I looked at Riku's picture, I saw Riku fighting with a blindfold over his eyes while wearing the same armor that he was given to by Merla. When I looked at the next drawing, I saw Merla; she was fighting a dragon that was breathing green fire! I noticed that she wasn't in the armor that she had used as a disguise in the city. I moved on to the next picture; I saw Leon and the other's fighting the Heartless.

"I see that you've returned, Roxas." I heard a familiar voice surprise me from behind.

I turned around to see Naminé smiling at me while sitting at the other end of the white table.

"Yep, and hopefully I'll stay longer this time," I replied back to her. Taking a seat across from Naminé, I continued, "But Naminé, I have a question."

"Well, what is it?"

"Those pictures on the wall, are they more than just drawings of a dream you've had? And what is this place? Is this all just a dream? Are you a dream? What do you mean I've returned, how did I-"

Naminé held her hand to stop me from turning this into twenty questions.

"I see that your mind is riddled with many questions, Roxas, many of which I cannot answer. But, I will do my best to answer all of your questions. The answer to your first question is yes, but I cannot expand on that answer any further, for it is a family secret. In response to your second question, this place is the world in-between the living and the dead realm."

I looked at her with a really confused look on my face. Then I asked, "But, if you're here, does that mean that you're on the brink of death? And me as well?"

"I'm here because I'm paralyzed, and because I'm paralyzed I can't go to back to the land of the living unless I'm given the cure; and I also can't go to the land of the dead unless I'm killed in the world of the living. As for you, I really don't know why you are here. And this isn't a dream; I'm not a dream. And as for your final question of how you got here, I really have no idea," Naminé said as she answered me.

"I'm sorry if it seems like I'm interrogating you, it's just that I'm so confused right now," I said to her with an apologetic look on my face.

"It's perfectly understandable, Roxas. If I were in your position I would have just as many questions. But, I think that's all of the questions I'll be able to answer right now. How about you tell me what's happened on your adventures."

"Ok, I think that's all the questions I can come up with anyway," I said to her with a smile on my face. I was about to tell her what had happened on my adventures, when she said, "Oh wait, before you begin, let's change the setting to be a little more comfortable."

She then got up and walked over to me and offered me her perfect angelic hand. I took her hand, trusting her. Then there was a bright light that came from her hand. The light had blinded me at first, but I just kept staring into Naminé's beautiful cerulean eyes. When I finally looked away I found myself and Naminé sitting on a sandy beach that was in front of what appeared to be a wooden fortress fused with a very small island jungle, with one huge tree as well. I was awed at the beauty of the scenery.

"This is where I come to relax when the Royal Family goes on a vacation. This place is called Destiny Islands. Sorry for interrupting you, please continue on with your story."

"Naminé, this place is _amazing_! Oh yeah, the story. When I got you to the village healer…" And I had told her everything; she had giggled at some parts like when I had teased Aerith and Kairi about liking Cloud and Sora; I even acted out a couple of parts. She had a beautiful laugh, it was heavenly. I had gotten up to the point where Riku and I were about to enter the city, when she interrupted me saying, "Roxas, you can tell me the story next time. I'll see you soon, ok? Now, wake up!"

I saw that Naminé was about to punch me, that was when I realized this couldn't be Naminé, she was too kind. That's when I was jolted out of it, and when I was, I drew my dagger from my belt and had it an inch from her face.

"Ah!"

My vision then changed from Naminé on the beach to Merla and Riku in the ruins. She was on the ground with a look of terror.

"That's the SECOND time you've pointed a blade at me!" Merla yelled at me.

"Sorry, reflexes," I apologized as I put the dagger back in my belt.

"Well it's time to move on, so let's go," Riku said to us.

I then got up, mounted Dusk; while Merla and Riku mounted Dawn. When we were all ready, we set Dusk and Dawn off on a nice jog towards the Forest of Nobody.

POV: Leon

"Lord Cid, we need more troops. We can't put up a good solid defense against these 'things' unless we have more troops. With the amount of troops we currently have, I would say we can't hold them for more than a day," I said to the village leader Cid in his office.

"Well I'm sorry, sonny. But, that's all of the troops that you're gonna get. I can't force the rest of the men in the town to join; it's their choice, not mine," Cid explained to me.

I sighed, "Then what can you get me?"

Before he could answer me, a Gummi Bird landed on his windowsill. It had a tiny letter attached to its leg. _That must be Roxas_, I thought to myself as I went over the windowsill. I took hold of the Gummi bird and took the note attached to its leg.

"Can we continue this later?" I asked Cid.

Lord Cid then nodded his head toward me.

I then left to gather everyone up.

Once everyone was in the room, except for Yuffie; she was out on reconnaissance. That was when I began to read the letter.

"Dear Leon,

We're nearly at the forest, we should be there by the time you send us a reply back. We'll be back as soon as we can to help out. Merla will teleport us there once we get the cure for Naminé.

By the way, Merla does know about those 'things'; they're called the Heartless. They're supposed to be a myth, but they're obviously not. The darkness in people's hearts; that's what attracts them; they act on instinct alone. And there is darkness within every heart. For example, if one such as Cloud yields to the darkness in his heart, he too will become a Heartless. The Heartless can also take the hearts of anybody; but they will still be a Heartless, but in doing so that person who had their heart stolen will become a Heartless as well. The Heartless are always lurking and ever seeking to capture new hearts. Merla also says that the Heartless heading towards you are being commanded by somebody. They don't gather in large groups; they, supposedly, only appear in small groups. She also says that, at times, if someone with a strong heart and will, be they evil or good, becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own. An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away… A spirit that goes on even as its body fades from existence, for you see; Nobodies do not truly exist at all. But, Nobodies may seem to have feelings, but they only pretend to have hearts. While Heartless act on instinct; Nobodies function in a higher manner. They can think and plan. We haven't run into any Heartless or Nobodies yet, I'm hoping that we don't encounter either of them soon.

How's the princess doing?

Hoping to see you all soon,

Roxas."

It was right after I finished reading that the doors opened; and there stood Yuffie. However, this time she was badly wounded and covered in dirt, her forehead was bleeding, her left arm was bleeding and hanging motionlessly, and she was limping on her blood-spattered right leg. Yuffie only had enough energy to say one thing before she collapsed from exhaustion. "Leon…"

She then fell to the ground, but before she hit the floor I caught her. I then said quickly, "Aerith, Kairi, help me with Yuffie. Cloud, Sora, you go tell Lord Cid about the Heartless and the Nobodies."

I felt my eyes begin to water, as I looked at the injured Yuffie. I then carried her bridal style, as I sprinted towards Aerith's Healing Hut.

It was very late at night and I had been waiting outside the healing area for the news of how bad a condition Yuffie was in. I had been sitting on a stool that was outside thinking, _Whoever or whatever did this to Yuffie is going to __pay._ That was when Aerith had walked out of the healing area. She began by saying, "Her injuries aren't that severe, but she'll need to rest up for quite a while. She can't train, fight, or anything else that could be strenuous on her. However, her injuries seem to have been caused by a sort of heavy club or hammer, yet some of her other injuries suggest that the edge of some sort of blade caused them. She is currently resting; I'll let you ask your questions in the morning. However, I will let you talk to her for five minutes."

"Thanks," I said. I then walked past Aerith and into the healing area. When I saw Yuffie, she was lying on the bed across the room from Naminé. I went over to Yuffie and said, "Yuffie, I'm sorry about this. But, whoever did this to you is going to pay with their life."

And with that I got up, and left the healing area.

---

Well, how was this long chapter? Hope it was good because I'm beginning to experience writers block, I think. Well see you readers soon, hopefully.


	11. Difficulties

Hello my faithful readers, whom have read all of the TEN chapters so far! It is time for the very ugly Disclaimers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters. I only own Merla Uniqua.

POV: Roxas

"No, a wizard is better because they use magic! And some of the spells can penetrate armor!" Merla argued with Riku.

"No, warriors are better because they can wear armor to protect themselves in melee combat, unlike wizards!" Riku said.

"Shut up you two!" I yelled at Riku and Merla.

Riku was about to say something back at me when Merla said, "Guys, we're out of Blizzaga Berries. This is the last day you'll see me not having fireball come out when I sneeze."

"Let's go then, the quicker we get the Heart Blossom; the quicker we can get back to Traverse Village. Besides, the forest is just over that sand dune," I said to Riku and Merla.

We then spurred our horses on toward the top of the sand dune. On our way up there, Riku asked, "Hey guys, if the Heartless Desert is named after a mythical creature that turned out to be real, does that mean that the Nobody Forest is named after a mythical creature or a real creature?"

"Riku just shut up. No one has seen a Nobody with their own eyes, and besides, they're just a myth!" I said back at Riku.

"Alright, I'll shut up if I can ask one more question. What do they look like?"

"Well if my memory serves me correctly, I read that they supposedly have the look of a white sort of bouncy creature that has daggers for hands, and feet, as well. And I think that they don't have any visible eyes either. Why do you ask?" Merla said as she answered Riku's question.

"Oh, no reason, just wanted to know," Riku replied.

I sighed; it had been four days since we got the letter from Leon. I just couldn't wait to see Leon and the others, including the princess. I felt a small pang of guilt hit me in my heart. I thought, _I'm such an idiot. I just had to let my mind drift off, didn't I? If I hadn't been daydreaming, none of this would've happened._

"Look, there it is, the Nobody Forest!" Riku said, pointing ahead of us.

When I looked I saw a jungle that hid what was inside it with shadows. I noticed a small path that led deeper into the forest. We had stopped to admire the forest on top of the dune. I suddenly felt my shoulder get heavier. When I looked, I saw the Gummi Bird that I had sent to Leon when we were resting at the ruins on my shoulder. I set my eyes on the note that was attached to its leg. I took the note and said to Riku and Merla, "Hey guys, we got mail."

Riku guided Dawn over to Dusk so that he and Merla could hear me read it aloud.

"Dear Roxas,

We have big problems, one of them being that we don't have enough troops to hold the off the Heartless for very long, maybe for a day or so. Secondly, Yuffie has been injured and won't be able to help us fight the Heartless. And to make things worse, the king is asking why his daughter isn't at the palace yet. He's going to send someone to come and get her in three days. We'll try to hold off the Heartless as long as we can until you get here. Please hurry, we need all of the help we can get!

Signed,

Leon."

"That isn't good," Riku said to no one in particular.

"No, you think?" Merla said sarcastically.

"C'mon guys, cut it out. We need to keep moving. Let's get that blossom and get back Traverse Village," I said to Riku and Merla. They nodded in response, and then Merla stuck her tongue out at Riku. Riku just glared and sent Dawn into a steady jog. I had already sent Dusk into a jog. I just couldn't wait to get back to Naminé, Leon, and the others.

"_Roxas, don't do this to yourself, for me."_

POV: Leon

It early in the morning and I had been training for a couple of hours now. I had practicing against a dummy. I just couldn't get my mind off of Yuffie. I slashed at the dummy, causing it to shake violently. Just her being injured angered me; I could feel my rage begin to swell within me. I took another slash at the dummy, this time chopping deep into the wood of it. _I swear whoever hurt Yuffie is going to __**pay. **_I took one final slash at the dummy. I brought my sword up to swing and when I did, I swung it down with all of my might. The dummy was now chopped into two.

"Hey, Leon." I turned around to see Cloud. "Don't let your anger fuel you; it won't do anyone any good."

I said, "Thanks, but I can handle myself just fine."

"You can, but will you?" Cloud asked in response; pausing to let the question sink in. He continued, "Anyway, Aerith asked me to come and tell you that Yuffie is awake and needs to speak with you."

"Thanks," I said as I headed toward the Healing Area.

POV Yuffie

I had just woken up and man, my head was throbbing. I tried to remember what had happened yesterday. Ok, I was scouting out around the army looking for any weaknesses that those things might have… Oh, that's right; I was ambushed by that one guy!

Before I could expand on that thought, Leon came into the Healing Area. He then asked me, "How are you doing?"

"Fine I guess, I just woke up. By the way, what time is it?"

"Its morning and I just got done training." Leon got quiet for second, and then he asked, "Yuffie, who did this to you?"

"I don't remember much about it, but I was ambushed while I was watching the army while looking for any signs of weaknesses. There was only one, but he still got the jump on me. He then began to attack me relentlessly with some sort of giant hammer that had a sharp edge."

"What do you remember about the person that attacked you?"

"I don't remember much about him except that he wore a long black coat, long blue hair, and an x-shaped scar on his face."

"Thanks Yuffie. Just rest, you took quite a beating."

"You're welcome. You should get some rest too, you look tired."

Then he left, and I sighed thinking, _Leon please, don't get yourself killed._

POV: Roxas

I was in that white room again, looking at the drawings on the wall. I took a look at one of the random pictures on the wall, and what I saw was a sacrificial altar with some sort of shrine behind it. The shrine actually looked like it was keeping something closed, like a portal, blocking the entrance with lightning. When I got a closer look at the altar, I saw a girl in a white dress with blonde hair lying on the altar. I also saw a person with whitish hair holding a knife above his head; he seemed to have some sort of symbol on his chest, but i couldn't make it out. He also looked like he was about to stab the girl on the altar.

"Roxas, it's good to see you."

I turned around at hearing that angelic voice to see Naminé sitting at the white table.

"It's good to see you too, Naminé."

"So Roxas, may I please hear the rest of your adventures?"

"Sure."

Naminé then offered her hand to me. I took it, with that bright light erupting from it once again. Once the light died down I saw that I was at a giant tower, sitting on the edge with Naminé. In front of us was the setting sun.

"Naminé, is this where I think it is?"

"It should be it's where this 'mission' began."

"This is Twilight Village...but... forget it, I'm not going to ask. Anyway, the story; where was I? Right, Riku and I were about to enter the city," I said to Naminé.

"Well as we entered the city, some of the buildings were…" And I told her the rest of my adventure so far. She was surprised when I told her I saw her in the city. Her expression was priceless, it a look of confusion. Even in confusion she looked like an angel. I went on telling her about how I saved her look-alike from the guards. When I told her about Merla, her look of confusion went away. I then told her about Merla telling me the story of Hayner and Olette. I left out the part about Merla saying that I liked Naminé. I told her the rest of my adventure up to the point of where we were currently, sleeping in the jungle.

"Roxas, you've done all that for me?"

"Yes Naminé, I have done all of that for you."

"Roxas," she said, "I don't know how to thank you."

"Don't Naminé, don't thank me just yet. The journey isn't over yet; I still have to find that flower for you."

We just sat there, staring at the setting sun.

I wish this moment would never end.

POV: Heartless

Hearts…………………Princess……………………….Capture…………………………Kingdom …………………….Hearts!

Ooh the foreshadowing! I do hope that you liked this chapter! This story was edited by SimpleNClean92. I'm greatly thankful for that and please keep reading.


	12. This Must Be Love

Hello readers, here is Chapter twelve of the story 'Guardian of an Angel'. This chapter is mainly just a fun chapter, sort of a break from the main story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; only Merla Uniqua.

POV: Riku

"I hate this stupid jungle! I hate this stupid humidity! And I hate these STUPID BUGS!" I yelled in frustration. I saw a bug land on my forehead. I brought my hand up to hit the stupid bug.

WHAM!

I hit my forehead so hard I rolled off the log I was sitting on. "Ow! I hate bugs."

"Oh, stop being so stupid, Riku. And loud, some people are trying to sleep," Merla said as she motioned towards Roxas.

"I'm not stupid! Bugs are; and I'll be as loud as I want to be." I was about to talk loudly when Merla gave me a 'You better be quiet or I'm going to sneeze on you' look.

"She can be so bossy sometimes," I grumbled to myself.

"What was that?" she asked in a warning voice.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all."

"Whatever. Look, we all need our rest. Even Roxas does. Besides, from what I've seen so far, Roxas seems troubled," Merla said.

"I know Roxas is feeling as though he failed Naminé," I responded back.

"Really, how did he fail?"

"Well, you know that she was paralyzed, right?"

Merla nodded her head.

"You see, Roxas is a mercenary, as is the rest of the group. He was given a mission by King Ansem the Wise to protect Princess Naminé from anything that might happen to her as she traveled to Twilight Village for trade negotiations. We were all going to be paid handsomely, but we were nearly done with the mission when we stopped by this village called Traverse Village to rest and have a premature celebration. Well, Naminé went for a small walk outside of the village walls. She was attacked by a monster that came from a lake near by; luckily Roxas was there to rescue her. By the time he rescued her, she was paralyzed. He then took her straight to the Village Healer, Aerith. He had to wait a little as Aerith made a diagnosis on Naminé's condition. Once she was done she told Roxas that Naminé was only paralyzed but the cure is only in some oasis in this stupid jungle."

"So you mean to tell me that Roxas originally escorted Naminé because he was on the King's pay list?" Merla asked.

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying," I answered.

"Well I think that his reasons have changed now. I think he's saving her because he loves her."

I began to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Merla asked me.

My chuckle turned into a full blown laughter.

"What is so funny?" Merla asked again this time with a little more attitude.

"Ha ha ha… It's just that Roxas in love…. Ha ha ha… With the Princess!" I then broke out into an even louder laughter.

I felt something suddenly hit me in the head. It hit me hard enough to knock me off the log I was sitting on. When I looked I saw a shoe. I picked it up and playfully said, "Hey thanks for the shoe, now if only I could find the other one."

"Hey, give that back!" Merla said as she began hopping towards me on one foot.

Once she got to me, she began jumping for her shoe; which I was holding just out of her reach above my head.

"C'mon give it back please," Merla said in a whiny voice as she jumped for her shoe.

"Hmm, maybe I'll give it back to you if teach me some of that magic," I responded. She stopped jumping and said, "Well, I may teach you some magic if you give me my shoe back and teach me a little about the ways of the sword."

"Hmm, alright, I'll teach you the sword and you teach me the magic, deal?" I asked, offering my hand to make it official.

She took my hand. "Deal."

With that I dropped her shoe, she picked it up and put it back on.

"Alright, let's get started."

"Alright, I need you to clear your mind of any miscellaneous thoughts."

"Ok," I said while trying to clear my mind of Merla.

"Now, pull one of your hands back and focus your fiery rage in that hand."

I brought my hand back just like she told me to, and I tried to focus on my hand, but I couldn't stop thinking about Merla.

"Now, push forward and release that rage!" Merla instructed me.

I pushed my hand forward and released the energy. The result was a tiny fireball that dissipated after going ten feet in front of me.

I sighed, thinking, _That was pathetic!_

"Riku…..that was great!" Merla said as she came up and hugged me.

I looked up in surprise and said, "That was great? That wasn't great, that was pathetic!"

"What, did you expect a giant fireball of doom to come out?" Merla asked sarcastically as she took a step back.

"We have to start small, and work our way up. Besides, that wasn't a bad try, but I think something was distracting you," Merla said as she reached behind her head and took the black ribbon that was holding her ponytail. I saw her hair fall down as she shook it loose. it fell to her upper back; if she looked beautiful before, she looked absolutely gorgeous now! She then offered her black ribbon to me, saying, "Cover your eyes with this."

I took the ribbon in my hands and brought the ends around my head and tied it so that it could easily cover my eyes without slipping off.

"Good, now do exactly as I say. Clear your mind of any misleading thoughts and only focus on a strong thought or feeling. Whether it is anger, sadness, happiness, or love, it doesn't matter, just focus on that one thing."

I then cleared my mind of the wild thoughts and only focused on that strong thought or feeling. I automatically knew what I felt very strong about, Merla. I wrapped my mind around her, filling my mind with thoughts of Merla.

"Now, that you have your focus, bring your hand back and focus the energy from that thought into that hand."

I began to focus the energy from the thought of Merla, into my hand. I began to feel a sudden tiredness growing with in me.

"If you feel a sudden tiredness, ignore it. You've got to keep your focus."

I tried to ignore it as she gave me my next set of instructions, "Now, push that energy out of your hand with all of your might and push that hand out as well."

I then just pushed forward and forced the energy out as I pushed. I could only hear a sudden rush of air that sounded like a fireball, but sounded slightly different. About two seconds later I heard an explosion as I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around me in a hug.

"You did it, Riku! You used magic! I'm so proud of you!" Merla yelled elatedly.

I then took the blindfold off and saw what my blast had hit. I remember there being a stump in front of me, now there was a pile of ashes in its place.

I was awed at the sight and I asked Merla, "What did it look like? It sounded a little different from yours."

"Ok, it looked like a fireball that was the size of my head, but instead of being red it was a whitish bluish color. That spell is actually called Oblivion. It casts what ever it hits into oblivion, hence the name. It was pretty powerful; what was your focus thought?" Merla asked.

"I don't have to tell you. Besides, it wouldn't interest you."

"Yes, it would, now tell me!"

"No."

"Ah, c'mon, you know you want to."

"Maybe later."

"Fine, but I expect answer sometime before I die."

POV: Merla

"Now, it's time for sword training, are you ready?" Riku asked me.

I had a sword in my hands the point was currently on the ground.

"Now, raise the sword."

I tried to raise it, but I only succeeded in raising it up and then falling over. In my long studies of magic, I didn't get to work on my strength very much. I was dazed as Riku helped me up and said, "Maybe that sword is a little heavy for you. How about we try a short sword for you?"

I nodded my head in response. With that, he took the sword I was previously using, sheathed it; and then he drew a short sword from his pack and handed it to me. It felt much lighter and easier to lift and wield.

"Better?" Riku asked me. I nodded my head in response.

"Good. Now, there are three basic techniques you can use; the horizontal slice, the vertical slice, and the stab."

I absorbed all of this knowledge like a sponge. I nodded my head for Riku to continue once I understood it all.

"Ok, show me a horizontal slice."

I slashed the sword horizontally.

"Not bad, but your stance is all wrong. Your legs should be in a back stance with the back leg being the side that you are slashing with. And when you slash, you bring the sword across your body then slash. And while you are doing this you step forward, as well," Riku explaine.

"Um...Riku, that was a lot to take in; could you possibly guide me?"

Riku then came up behind me and took my hands. "Go into a back stance." I brought my right foot back to match his stance, "Good, now bring your left hand up to the height of your shoulder."

I was blushing slightly throughout this entire thing, good thing his head was behind mine. I then brought my left hand up to the height of my shoulders.

"Now, when you slash, you bring both arms across and slash at the target."

Riku guided me through the motions. After he guided me through the motions a couple of times he said, "Now, let me see you do it on your own."

I then did my best to mimic the motions.

"Not bad, not bad at all. You still need work on it a little, though."

"Thank you, Riku. What about the vertical slice and the stab?"

"Oh, now that you have the horizontal slash down, the rest should be easy. You're just changing the type of slashing motion you do. For the vertical slice, instead of bringing your arms across your body, you bring the sword behind you and then you swing it over your head and then downward towards your target. And for the stab you bring the sword back, and then bring it forward like you would with a magic blast. By the way, nice job," Riku explained.

"Alright, thanks Riku. I think I'm beginning to understand why the sword is so important," I said to Riku.

"Really, I thought a wizard didn't need a sword and could kick anyone's butt alone."

"Well, I thought that warriors didn't need magic and could muscle their way out of anything." I remarked.

"Hmm, touché," Riku said.

"Well I'm going to bed. It's really late and I need my beauty sleep," I said while stretching.

"I think I'll go to bed too, I'm tired," Riku said while yawning.

POV: Nobody

"My lord, we've found three travelers in the forest, and it appears they're heading for the oasis. Their names are Roxas; R-O-X-A-S, Riku; R-I-K-U, and Merla; M-E-R-L-A."

"Capture them, and then bring them here. They mustn't get the antidote for the princess' paralysis."

I then left in a portal of darkness.

This story was edited by SimpleNClean92. I'm greatly thankful for that and please keep reading. Hope to see you readers soon. : )


	13. Got it Memorized?

Hello readers, well here's chapter thirteen! I hope that you are enjoying the story so far. Well either way here is the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its Characters, I only own Merla.

**POV: Roxas**

I awoke the next morning to find Riku and Merla gone. I was fully awake after I noticed they weren't in their sleeping cots. I also noticed that the camp was a mess; it had looked like a small struggle had taken place.

"Your friends put up quite a fight, Roxas. But, they weren't a challenge," I heard a voice say from behind me, surprising me. I had no idea this guy was behind me until he spoke.

I turned around to see a man, hooded in a black coat with his arms crossed.

"Who are you? What have you done with my friends? And what do you want?!" I asked, drawing my sword.

"Your friends are safe; you don't need to worry about them. You should really be worrying about yourself. As for what we want, well let's just say that's confidential. And my name is Axel, A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" Axel said to me as he summoned two red chakrams in a fiery burst.

"There are two ways we can do this. Option number one: you come with me peacefully to where your friends are. Option number two: you come with me unconscious. So, which is it?" Axel smugly asked me.

"How about this, option number three: I don't come with you and I save my friends!" I said.

"Very well, its option number two then! You're coming with me, conscious or not," Axel said to me as he threw one of the fiery chakrams in my direction.

I rolled out of the way, barely avoiding getting hit, only to find Axel waiting for me with his other chakram. I had brought my sword up to block just in time as Axel threw it right at me. I then saw him deftly catch the first chakram he had thrown.

"Hey Roxas, what's this thing? It seems like a nice little trinket; but a little girly, don't ya think?" Axel said to me as he held up the Star Charm that used to be attached to my sword. I felt rage beginning to swell within me.

I then ran up to him and tried to slash at him with my sword, but he dodged me easily. I slashed at him again, and again, and again. He just kept dodging me, barely exerting himself.

"C'mon Roxas, you can do better than this!" Axel said tauntingly.

_Why is he toying with me? _I thought. As my rage grew, I found myself beginning to slash at him uncontrollably. He just kept nimbly dodging my sword. And throughout this entire ordeal he was smiling at me; that just fueled my anger even more. It was a little while after that that I had finally landed a hit on him. Axel was kneeling on the ground. I just stood there, waiting for his next move. Axel stood up and said, "So you want to play like that, eh? Fine, let's play!"

He then began to relentlessly throw his chakrams at me. All I was able to do was block his attacks. He just kept advancing, while I kept retreating. I was beginning to feel worn down from the fight. Axel didn't let this go unnoticed; he slid over to my right side and threw both of the chakrams at me and said, "BURN BABY!" Then his chakrams lit up in a fiery blaze. I barely had time to block them. But because of my fatigue, the chakrams had knocked away my sword. After that I looked to where Axel was to find empty space. I began to look for Axel when I felt a sudden pain hit me on the back of my neck. As everything began to go black, I heard Axel say, "This was fun. We should do it again sometime, Roxas."

**POV: Leon**

"I'm sorry that I didn't speak with ya earlier Leon, but I was busy. So, what can I do for ya?" Lord Cid asked me.

"Well, you can tell me what other assets you can offer me to defend this town from the Heartless," I said, still feeling a little agitated from Yuffie being beaten by a blue-haired freak.

"Well, I can't offer you any more troops; but I can offer ya' Chinese Fireworks."

"Fireworks?" I asked incredulously.

"Yep, fireworks; we usually use them for festival of the New Cycle. I'm pretty sure that the townsfolk won't mind that you use them," Cid said, grinning.

"Thank you Lord Cid, but is there anything else that you can offer?"

"I'm sorry sonny, but that is everything that I can give ya."

I sighed, "Well thanks anyway, I hope that Roxas comes back soon."

I got up to leave when Cid asked me, "How is she, yer girlfriend?"

I was already at the door when he asked me this. His question caused me to freeze right where I was. I clenched my fist until my knuckles turned white. I answered his question, "She's fine; she's resting in the healing area. She was ambushed by some blue haired freak. She won't be able fight with us in the battle."

"I'm sorry 'bout that sonny. Well, I'm sure that you have a lot of plans to develop before the big battle, so go on, get! Don't let an old geezer like me hold ya' down!"

"Thanks, Lord Cid. I'll see you soon."

**POV: Yuffie**

I am so BORED; just sitting in this room with a paralyzed princess. It was so quiet and dull in here that I was staring at the flap waiting for someone to walk in. I practically went crazy when someone had entered through the flap, "HeyKairi,howareyou?What'sgoingonintheoutsideworld?AmItalkingtoofast?IamsorryifIam.ItisjustthatI'vebeeninhereforalongtime,andI'mjustsohappythatyou'reHERE!" I said in a really excited voice with my left eye twitching slightly.

"Oh, hello, Yuffie, I'm fine. I just got back from my date with Sora. He met me an hour late, and as his punishment instead of just taking me out to dinner, he had to take me dancing and he had to take me out to dinner. And you were talking slightly fast," Kairi said to me calmly.

"Oh, sorry about that; you understand right? I've been in here for two or three days straight!"

"Yeah, I've actually have developed a cure for that."

"REALLY, WHAT IS IT?! TELL ME, TELL ME NOW…please?"

"Ok, here it is!" Kairi said to me as she held out a cup of water.

"Water, that's the cure?"

"Yep."

"Well, as long as it get rid of my extreme boredom," I said as I took the cup and took big swig out of it. "I don't feel any different," I said afterwards.

"Just give it a little time."

"Why do you think the Heartless are coming to this village?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the Heartless could've attacked any village compared to this one. If they're after the hearts of people, they should have just gone to Twilight Village. I mean, it's packed with people."

"I don't know why the Heartless are coming here. But, they're being commanded by someone, so maybe said someone doesn't like this town for some reason or another."

I then let out a really big yawn as I said, "Well whatever the reason, the Heartless are coming here and Roxas is out in a forest looking for the flower. I am very tired for some reason, so goodnight."

After that my head hit my pillow and I drifted off into dreamland…

I am so sorry that I didn't update sooner.

This story was edited by SimpleNClean92


	14. A New Army, An Old Enemy

Hello my faithful readers, here's chapter 14!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Merla.

**POV: Riku**

Both my mind and eyesight were hazy as I opened my eyes to see dimly lit torches near where I was lying. I tried to remember what had happened before. I was walking back to camp with Merla, talking about the ways of the sword. Then these white things attacked us; they were really strong. We were really tired from the training we did together, and they overcame us.

As I became aware of my surroundings, I realized that I was in a cell. There were metal bars separating me from the outside world; I also realized that I was alone in my small prison. I looked down at my self to see that I was still in my armor. _Hmm, that's strange. Why would they leave me my armor on? Where are Merla and Roxas?_

"Roxas, Merla; where are you?" I asked, figuring that they were some where in this prison.

"I'm right here- ah AHH…" I jumped for the safety of the other side of the cell, "Choo!"

I didn't hear an explosion after Merla sneezed, I only heard a small whooshing sound, like a marble rushing past my head. I looked up to see the damage that she had done to the wall.

"Merla, I thought that when you sneezed, your fireballs could take out walls?" I said, looking at her through a tiny hole in the wall.

"They do, but the fireballs can vary in size and explosiveness; sometimes they'll just go straight through a wall and sometimes they'll destroy it. By the way, where are we?"

"I don't really know, but it's some sort of dungeon from what I can tell."

"No, you think?" Merla said sarcastically. "Have you seen Roxas or our captors?"

"Nope, all I remember is being ambushed by these creatures in white."

"Me too, I think those were Dusks."

"What?"

"Supposedly the most basic form of a Nobody. Do you think that they got Roxas?"

"I doubt it; if they wanted to get him it would take a full blown squadron of them to take Roxas down."

I then heard a door open and then slam shut. And I saw someone being dragged down by what appeared to be a huge muscular whitish-grayish thing carrying around what looked like a huge hammer.

When it passed by my cell I saw that it was dragging Roxas. I was confused. I was confused because when I fought against those Dusks, I knew they couldn't get Roxas. When he and I spar he always ends up beating me; except for a couple of times like when he tripped on a rock, fell on his head and knocked himself out.

I saw that the giant nobody open a cell door across from my cell, and throw Roxas roughly in there.

I waited until the giant walking husk retreated away from the dungeon. I then said to Merla, "How are you doing? Can you cast any spells?"

"I'm fine, I'm able to move, but my entire body is in pain. And I have no idea."

"Can you try? They just threw an unconscious Roxas into the cell across from me."

"What?! We need to get out of here! I'll try casting Magnera just outside our cells. It should draw in the cell doors and break the locks."

"Just cast the spell!"

Merla then began to mutter words that I could not understand while she also brought her hands back up to her head. After she muttered one last final word, she thrust her hands forward toward the spot outside our cells. The result of the spell was nothing.

I responded, "Merla did you cast the spell?"

"I did, but there must be an anti-magic field in effect! Magic can't be used!"

I sighed in defeat, thinking, _We're in trouble._

**POV Leon**

I was sparring with Sora when he said to me, "It's no fun losing all the time; at least when Riku was here I had a chance."

"Well if you trained harder instead of goofing around all of the time you could have a chance against me."

"And lose all of that time of having fun?! Are you CRAZY?!"

"Sora you lazy bum, get over here! Oh, hi Leon. Hey, Yuffie wants to talk to you," Kairi yelled as she was running over here.

"Thanks, I'll head right over."

"Oh, she's not at the healing area; she's at the inn waiting for you."

"Why isn't she at the healing area?!"

"Aerith released her, told her to take it easy, and gave her some Cure Bell Berries."

I sighed while thinking, _No matter what the injury, nothing can hold her down._

"Well, thanks anyway. I'll see you guys later."

I suddenly heard the town horn being blown. It was coming from the northern gate.

**POV Yuffie**

I was sitting in a chair, waiting for Leon to arrive. _Where is HE?_

I was also working on some last minute strategies that we could use against the Heartless. Although, I couldn't get my mind off that guy who took me out. _Who was that scum bag? He made it so that I wouldn't be able to help Leon and the others in battle and we need all of the help we can get! We only have three-hundred spears against nearly ten- thousand claws, swords and spears; we won't last the night. _

I sighed._ What we need are more troops. _

I suddenly heard something, it sounded like the town horn, and it was coming from the northern gate. I grabbed my crutch and started heading toward the sounding horn.

Once I arrived there I saw a bunch of soldiers marching in and Leon talking with someone. He had a suit of armor on and a sword at his side.

"Ah, Yuffie, there is someone here whom I would like you to meet."

"What is going on Leon? Who is this guy? Where did these soldiers come from?" I asked Leon as I wobbled up to him.

"For your information, lady, I am Captain Hayner, of the Royal Army of his Majesty, Ansem the Wise," Hayner said to me arrogantly.

"LADY! HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A _LADY;_ I AM THE GREAT NINJA YUFFIE, YOU ARROGANT LITTLE PUNK! And if you came for the princess, you're gonna have to wait for Roxas to get back with the cure! And if we're under arrest for not bringing the princess home on time; it's gonna have to wait. Besides we're not just gonna leave this town to defend itself against the Heartless all alone."

"Uh, Yuffie this guy has come here under the orders of the King. He has come to help us. Here, read this," Leon said as he handed me a letter.

"Dear Mercenaries,

I have sent Captain Hayner and my army to help you defend my daughter while the mercenary, Roxas, is getting the cure for her. These are one thousand good soldiers that will help defend the town from the Heartless. Failure is not an option.

Signed,

Ansem the Wise."

"Leon, this is great news!" I exclaimed, finishing the letter.

Leon responded, "Yeah, and not to mention the Great Ninja Yuffie is finally out of the infirmary."

I had been hopping with so much joy at this point, that I gave Leon a kiss on the cheek, thinking, _We might actually stand a chance against the Heartless!_

It wasn't until after this thought that I had realized what I had done; in which I had immediately said, "Uh… I got to go do that one thing… Bye!"

I had then turned around with a crimson colored face and hobbled back to the inn.

I could've sworn I saw Leon blushing as well.

**POV: Aerith**

I was walking through the Northeastern woods, looking for some Cure Bell Berries. We needed them for the upcoming battle and with the number of troops that we had now; I was going to need all of the berries I could get. The berry itself isn't important; it's what it can be made into. It is the primary ingredient to potions. Potions are easy to make.

I brought Cloud along to help me find the berries. I told him to search one side of the forest while I searched the other side; and I told him I'd meet him back at the Eastern Gate at four o'clock. I had just found a bushel of them when heard the sound of sword being drawn from behind me, and it sounded like it was a very long sword. And when I turned I found a long sword being pointed directly at my face. When I saw who was holding the sword, I nearly fainted out of fear alone. It was Sephiroth; he was standing in front of me with an indifferent face. His long silver hair was blowing slightly in the breeze. And his piercing green eyes gleamed with madness unmatched by any I had ever seen in my life. He had a single black feathered wing on his back; it was folded on to shoulder.

"Such a beautiful rose," he said in an insane monotone voice. I had been nearly paralyzed in fright at this point. I had been taking tiny steps backwards, and he was matching my speed.

"Too bad it must die."

Then he raised his sword up and I screamed as loud as I could as he brought it down.

"CLOUD!"

**POV: Cloud**

I was looking for the Cure Bell Berries, without that much success, when I heard a sound that froze me to the core.

"CLOUD!"

I was already heading through the forest with my sword drawn, cutting away at any branches that got in my way. The only thought that was on my mind was, _I must save Aerith!_

I arrived in a clearing. I saw Aerith lying on the ground unconscious. I also saw the rose that I gave to her lying in pieces next to her head.

"It has been a while, Cloud. You have no need to worry; I didn't kill her. Not yet, anyway. I just think it will be so much more pleasurable to kill her in front of the whole town."

I heard the source of the voice coming from above me. When I looked up I saw Sephiroth flying above me. I yelled at him. "Sephiroth, what did you do to her?!"

"I have marked her for death. She will die by my sword as you watch," Sephiroth said nonchalantly. Then he disappeared, leaving behind but a single ebony feather which fell to the ground in front of me. I hated to admit it but, I was slightly scared. Not for me, but for Aerith and the others.

I turned around, picked up Aerith, and began heading for the town.

**POV: Roxas**

I was in the white room again, looking at the various drawings on the walls. I was looking at the drawing with the altar, when I noticed something different about it. The guy who was about to stab the girl on the altar had pink hair. And I also spotted a small little yellow star charm in the girl's hands. I immediately made a connection. _That's Naminé!_

"She certainly can draw, can't she?" I heard a voice say from behind me.

I turned around to see a man leaning up against the wall. "Axel! What are you doing here?!" I asked, feeling my rage begin to boil.

"Man, not even a simple 'Hello'. Talk about rude."

"Don't avoid the question! Answer me! Where is Naminé?!" I ran up to him, grabbed him by his cloak and pinned him against the wall, glaring at him. He just smirked at me and said, "Sorry Roxas, violence will get you nowhere. I'll tell you if you answer some of my questions. But, you'll have to let me go first."

I didn't really have a choice; he was right. Violence wouldn't get me anywhere. So I let go of him; but not before I kneed him in the stomach.

"Hey, what was that for?" Axel grunted.

"That was for not giving me my lucky charm back, and for knocking me out."

"Fair enough, I probably deserved that anyway," Axel said, looking up at me with that annoying smirk.

"Where is Naminé?"

"She's not here, that's for sure. And, FYI, you're nowhere near her. This is just one of many dimensions. And besides, you're not really here; you're really in the dungeon. Anyway, where did you come from?"

"Why do you care? It doesn't matter if I'm in a dungeon," I responded, beginning to calm down.

"You're right I don't care. Let's call it curiosity."

"Whatever. Where are Riku and Merla?"

"They're with you in the dungeon, waiting for you. Why did you come into Nobody Forest?"

I paused at the thought of Naminé. How she was just lying in that bed helpless and paralyzed. I just looked away from him, avoiding his gaze.

"I see, so you came for her, didn't you?" Axel asked. I looked up at him, straight in the eyes. He wasn't smirking anymore. Instead, he was looking at me with a serious look.

"I'll take that as a yes. Tell me, do you _love _your precious paralyzed princess?" Axel said, grinning at me.

I felt my anger growing as he talked about Naminé. I tightened my hands into a fist until the knuckles were nearly as white as the room around me.

"Hmph, figures a mercenary pauper would fall for a wealthy princess."

That was all I could take before my rage boiled over. I rose up and yelled, "What do you REALLY want Axel? Tell me, what is it?"

There was a slight pause before he responded. "What I really want is to feel again. See ya later Roxas. Glad we could have this talk. Oh, and before I forget you may wanna keep an eye or two on your friend Riku."

And then everything went black.

Well how was it? Sorry for not updating sooner but school is getting in the way. Curse you Homework! I'll try to update sooner and I'm taking any suggestions for the next couple of chapters. Hope to see you soon. And Happy Thanksgiving! And this chapter was edited by SimpleNClean92


	15. Hauntings of the Past Pt 1

Hello readers I am sorry that I am not updating this story sooner

Hello readers I am sorry that it took me SO long to update I just hit a small case of writer's block. I'm just so overwhelmed with school and I have been playing Halo 3 a little (ok, more like a lot). Any way here's chapter 15 of Guardian of an Angel.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from FFVII, KH, and KH2.

**POV: Cloud**

I was at the barracks, sharpening my sword. I was alone, sharpening my steel by the candle light. I could hear sound of my blade readying for the taste of Sephiroth's own steel.

_I won't let her die. I won't fail another._

"I won't let it happen again," I whispered to myself as I concentrated on sharpening my blade. I thought back to when I was still in training at the academy; when I first met my best friend Zack. I had just become a cadet, so I was still quite young.

_--_

"_PAIR UP! SPARRING! FIND A PARTNER!" The instructor yelled._

_I looked around, trying to see if I could find someone who was as good as I was. By the time I had taken five steps toward the person I thought was equal to me; they were already paired up with someone else. When I began my search for another partner; everyone was taken. I then felt excited as I thought, 'Maybe I'll be sparring two people at once!'_

"_Hey, are you looking for a partner too?" I heard a voice ask me from behind._

_I turned around to see a boy about my age with grayish teal colored hair._

"_Yeah, I'm Cloud."_

"_My name's Zack."_

_With that we assumed our stances and we began to spar._

_After that we became best friends. We would compete in just about everyway possible; who could hold their breath the longest (I nearly suffocated one time), who could do the most push ups, who could eat the fastest, who could drink a cup of water the quickest, who was the fastest swimmer, and even who could pull the most pranks on the instructor before getting caught._

_We graduated at the top of our class. Zack was number one, but I was happy for him. It was after that that we became mercenaries, fighting for whoever had the highest pay. Although, we would do a background check on whoever was hiring us. We would decline if the ruler or the person hiring us was malicious in someway shape or form. We didn't care about how much money we got, what we did care about was the challenge and the thrill._

_Zack said to me once, "When I go, I hope it's with a fight. I hope it's a fight with an honorable opponent."_

_I responded, "You know, if I had to go out in some way, I'd want it to be for something I'm defending with my life."_

_--_

I suddenly felt a familiar hand softly touch my shoulder. I didn't look over my shoulder, but I did stop sharpening my blade.

I responded, "You should be asleep."

"As should you, Cloud. You need to rest before the big battle tomorrow," Aerith said.

There was a pause after that. I said, "I'll be in bed soon, just let me finish."

"Cloud, what's wrong? Why are you doing this in the middle of the night?"

"I'm preparing for tomorrow's battle."

"Your blade is sharp enough; go to bed, we can't have you too tired to lift your sword."

Never once did I turn to look at her. I was about get back to sharpening when Aerith turned me around to face her. I saw her hand fly through the air, and then I felt her hand connect sharply with my cheek.

"At least look at me when I'm talking to you! Now Cloud, what is wrong?!" Aerith yelled, glaring with her arms crossed.

I sighed. "Please, take a seat. It's a long story."

She sat down, her arms still crossed.

"I once had a friend named Zack. We were best friends. We met while we were cadets."

I continued on telling her of what happened to Zack…

_--_

_One day, however, we were at the start of the battle, and Zack was doing very well, if not a little better, than me. We had been warned by the kingdom of a terrible menace named Sephiroth. We thought we could take him. We were arrogant and stupid. We were fighting the last battle between two rival kingdoms._

_I looked toward the enemy army; I saw a figure that looked like an angel with one wing. But instead of a white wing, there was a wing the color of onyx. The "angel" also had long silver hair, pale skin, and he wore black leather armor under a black trench coat. He drew his long sword, and flew straight at us. This guy gave me a bad feeling in my gut. I saw that Zack was getting the same feeling as me._

_I then saw something that surprised me; the enemy army stopped. They stopped a little ways in front of us. I then saw Sephiroth glide down._

_He proclaimed in his insane nonchalant voice, "Anyone who is worthy enough to fight me, come forward."_

_Zack and I walked toward the middle of the battlefield to meet Sephiroth. I saw Sephiroth staring us down with his piercing green eyes. I also saw that he was smiling, just ever so slightly. But it was an insane smile._

_We just stood there for a couple minutes, staring each other down; the air was heavy with tension._

_Zack charged at Sephiroth with his sword. I followed him up, brandishing my own steel._

_Zack closed the distance and slashed Sephiroth._

_Sephiroth sidestepped Zack's attack._

_I charged up to Sephiroth and slashed at him._

_I saw a slight amount of blood glisten on the tip of my blade._

_I whirled around to slash at him again but paused at what I saw._

_I found his leather gloved fingers wrapped around Zack's throat. Sephiroth then slashed at me, knocking away my sword, pointing his own at me._

_He then asked, "What are your names?"_

_I answered, "Cloud and Zack."_

"_Very well. Cloud, you were able to draw my blood, and now you shall watch your friend die."_

_He threw Zack high into the air and flew up to meet him. He was ready to kill._

_I yelled, "NOOO!"_

--

I trailed off after that.

Aerith then said, "Cloud, I'm so sorry! I didn't know that you had suffered such a great loss."

"Aerith, I don't want Sephiroth to take anyone else from me. I won't lose you."

"I understand that, Cloud, I just don't want to lose you either! But, for goodness sake, you're going overboard! You can't do this alone. I want to help you; but I can only help if you let me in!"

"I don't want to lose you! The reason I lost my best friend was because I got cocky! I got cocky because I let Zack in. Look at what happened to him. He died because of my mistake!"

I felt another, much more painful sting on my cheek. "Cloud, you're hurting yourself by blocking out your feelings, but you're also hurting me. Cloud, I… I love you."

I looked at her; I could see the hurt in her eyes. It overwhelmed me; I reached out to embrace her. When I wrapped my arms around her, she didn't resist, and just cried into my shoulder.

I whispered, "I love you too."

"Thank you for letting me in."

"Thanks for barging in."

With that we left the barracks, to rest for the big day tomorrow.

**POV: Merla**

I had just finished meditating; I took a peek through the small hole that my sneeze had caused to see Riku, still sleeping. I also looked over at Roxas; he was sleeping as well. I began to wonder what it was like to dream. Elves do not "sleep"; they actually just meditate for a couple of hours. Since elves don't sleep they can't dream. Sometimes - a lot of the time – I wish I was human; if only to just dream. Another thing is that I'm one hundred and twelve years old; yet I have the body of a sixteen-year-old.

My mind drifted off, back to when the rest of the elves were climbing trees in the forest. The elves love forests; I prefer cities. The elves also like the peace and quietness of the forest; I prefer the hustle and bustle of the city. Elves don't ask many questions as to why something is the way it is; I always ask questions. Elves don't have many allergies, but I'm allergic to flowers, pollen (wizards have made amazing discoveries!), dogs, cats, animals in general, bananas, onions, Atlantis trout… you get the picture. I'm allergic to a lot of things.

I took a little stroll down memory lane, since we weren't getting out any time soon.

It was in the middle of an icy cold winter. There was a fresh blanket of snow just calling the children's names.

My mommy took me to this small town near the forest because I began to get sick (I was thirty-five years old by now, and had the body of a five-year-old).

We were currently in a place called an "Inn." Mommy said it was a place where people let other people rest. When I asked mommy why we left the forest, she answered, "Well Clarice-"

"Mommy, don't call me by my first name! Call me Merla!" I whined. My full name was really Clarice Merlana Uniqua.

Mommy sighed, "Clari-… Merla… I thought we already had this discussion?"

"I know, but I don't like my first name."

"Well, Merla, the reason that we came here is because the doctors back home can't make you feel better. That's why we came here. Now get your coat - we need to hurry or we'll be late."

"Mommy, can I go play in the snow after we see the doctor?"

"Maybe… but you have to hurry! Now go!"

I leapt into action, getting my elk boots, my big fluffy wool coat, my wool gloves, and my wool hat.

"Come on, Mom, let's go! The more time we spend here, the less there is for snow!"

When my mommy finally got ready, I was outside waiting for her. She came out and said, "Okay, sweetie, I'm ready now. Let's get you to the doctor."

"Mommy, where are we going?"

"We're going to the wizard's tower."

"But I thought we were going to the doctor?"

"We are, but the doctor here is actually a wizard."

Once we got there, we were greeted by a boy who looked to be about thirteen years old. He was wearing a blue hat, a blue sweater with blue pants and some brown leather shoes. He also wore some spectacles. He was sitting in front of a desk reading a big book.

I was hiding behind my mommy's legs.

"Oh, hello, my name is Merlin. Are you here to see Master Yen Sid?"

My mommy answered, "Yes, we are. We're here to see if Master Yen Sid can do anything for my daughter." My mommy then stepped out of the way to let Merlin see me.

Merlin looked at me and said, "I don't see anything wrong."

I then felt a sneeze coming on, "Ah AHH-"

My mommy acted fast. She grabbed Merlin and pulled him from his desk. He yelped; I looked over at a door to the right open up. An old man stepped out.

"-CHOO!" A fireball came out when I sneezed.

I looked towards the man in horror. He extended a hand towards the fireball, absorbed it; extended the other hand out a window, and the fireball fired back out of his hand outside the open window. He brought his hand back inside as he closed the window.

"I am to assume that this is Little Miss Merla that you told me in your letter, Mrs. Uniqua?"

She just simply nodded her head in amazement of the stunt that he just pulled.

I began to cry.

Master Yen Sid approached me, kneeled down to my level and asked, "What's wrong, Miss Merla?"

I sniffled, "I nearly burned you."

"But, you didn't, you see?" He held out his hands for me to see. There wasn't a single burn on them. I began to calm down, my sobs turning into snuffles.

"There now, all better, right?"

I nodded.

"Now, let's get that sneeze checked out. That way, you can play in the snow."

He took me into his office and said that he was going to use magic on me. I asked why. He said it was so that he could identify what was wrong. Afterwards, he asked if my mommy could come in.

"Mrs. Uniqua, from what I see, there is no problem with little Merla here."

"Then why is it that when she sneezes, fireballs come out?"

"The answer to that is an untamed power of magic that rests within her. When she sneezes, she is not only expelling boogers, but she is also expelling a portion of her untamed magic inside her. The reason that she sneezes, however, is because she simply has allergies. She is apparently allergic to many things, a good amount of those things being in the forest, from a good guess based on the description in your letter."

He paused so that it could all sink in.

My mommy spoke first, "Master Yen Sid, is there any way that you can possibly 'tame' this magic?"

"Yes, she can be trained to be a wizard. However, I cannot take on any students right now; I am too old to take on anymore apprentices. When Merlin comes of age he will teach young Merla here how to control that magic. Until then have her wear this."

He pulled out a black ribbon. "It shall suppress a portion of the untamed magic."

"Thank you so much, Master Yen Sid. I only have one last question left: When will Merlin be ready to teach Merla?"

"Well, I would have to say about seven more years will do it."

I spoke up for the first time in this conversation, "Mommy, can I go play outside in the snow now?"

"Sure sweetie, just make sure to wear that ribbon, okay?"

"All right mommy, I love you."

"I love you, too."

I got up and took off, running through Yen Sid's study to the outside. I saw Merlin studying his book as I left.

I yelled at him as I ran out the door, "Goodbye Merlin, see you in seven years!"

Merlin looked up from his studies, "Oh, well…goodbye to you too. I guess…"

I didn't see Merlin again for seven years. I had grown very little; I now had the body of a six-year-old when I was forty-two years old. I was with my mom once again, and we were at the small town that was near the forest where I lived. The last time I was here it was freezing cold, now it was summer. I saw people darting everywhere in the sweltering heat. I was with my mom again, heading towards the wizard's tower. I couldn't wait to see Master Yen Sid again.

I said to my mom, "Come on mom, and hurry up! I want to see Yen Sid again!

"Clarice-"

"MOM, don't call me that!"

"…Merla, we won't be seeing Yen Sid. The reason for that is because…he…umm…"

My face fell as she tried to find the right words, "He died didn't he?"

My mother's silence answered my question.

My mother said, "Instead you'll be taught by Merlin."

"Okay, I guess."

We finally arrived there; we were greeted by a man who looked to be in his 20's. He was wearing a blue robe, a long blue hat, and what appeared to be blue slippers.

"Welcome! I say, these are some old faces that I haven't seen for quite a while. How long has it been ten, nine years?"

I responded, "It's been seven years."

"Well it has seemed to be longer. Anyway, I just want to make sure that I have everything right. Miss Clarice Merlana Uniqua is to become my apprentice until she is capable of 'taming' the wild magic that rests within her."

I grumbled when I heard my full name.

My mom confirmed, "Yes, she is to become your apprentice."

"Ah AHH-"

Merlin brought his hands up and made waved them in a strange pattern. A hole appeared in front of me. It was spinning and I couldn't see the other side.

"-CHOO!" A fireball came out when I sneezed. The fireball went straight into the hole and disappeared. I was amazed. If magic could protect everything and everyone from my sneezes; I felt an overwhelming need to learn it.

"Now, I do hope that Miss Clarice brought her belongings with her."

"Mr. Merlin, was that magic? What was that? Can I-"

"Merla, please calm down; save your questions for later. And I'm sorry, but we didn't bring any of Merla's belongings; we were really in a rush when we left."

"Oh. Well, let's see what Miss Clarice would like. What would you like of your belongings?"

"Well…it would be nice if I could have my sleeping mat…and my clothes…and also Fua Bur."

"Excuse me, what is fua fua?"

"He's not a what, he's a who, and he's my best friend."

Merlin looked at me in a confused way.

My mom spoke up saying, "Fua Bur is her stuffed animal."

I retaliated, "He's not just ANY stuffed animal mom! He's a phoenix!"

Merlin then said, "Well let's bring it all here."

"But Mr. Merlin, all of my stuff is back in the forest. We can't go back all the way there."

"I know that Miss Clarice. That is why you are going to imagine what your belongings look like. If you wouldn't mind."

I closed my eyes and imagined my clothes, my sleeping mat and Fua Bur. I waited for about a minute or two.

"All right, Clarice, you may open your eyes now."

I opened them and saw my sleeping mat my clothes and my Fua Bur. I ran to pick up Fua Bur; and hugged him tightly. I then said, "Thank you Merlin! Oh, and Fua Bur says thank you too!"

"You're welcome, and you may tell Mr. Bur you're welcome as well."

My mom spoke up, saying to me, "Well, darling, I'm going to miss you. Now don't disobey Master Merlin if he tells you to do something. And also don't forget to study everyday. And most importantly, never ever run away if everything seems to fall around you. All right?"

"All right mom, I love you." And then she came down to my level and hugged me tightly; like it was going to be the last hug she would ever give me. I hugged her back just as deeply. We both let go of each other at the same time. That was the last time I had seen her. I did as Merlin told me to for the next 49 years.

I had the body of a thirteen-year-old by now and I was ninety-one years old. Merlin, however, was sixty-nine years old by now and had great big long white beard, a blue robe and big wizard's hat. I was wearing some nice comfortable leather pants with a nice sleeveless blouse with a green cloak.

It was thundering outside and pouring rain. The tower was leaking all over the place.

I asked Merlin, "Hey Merlin, why don't we just use our magic to make it stop raining?"

"Well you see, Merla, the reason we don't do that is that it would be a misuse of our magical powers. We would be going against what Mother Nature wanted for this world, and besides, it would take an immense amount of magic. More than you and I conjure even if we tried doing it together. It wouldn't be enough to stop this big of a thunderstorm."

"Oh, okay," I said as I adjusted one of the buckets to catch the dribbles of water.

"Why haven't we gotten a letter from my village yet? They should have sent one a while ago, and my mother hasn't returned any of my letters for six weeks. I'm beginning to worry."

"I wouldn't worry too much, Merla. I mean, your village lies deep in the forest. It would be difficult to reach for anyone, even a Gummi bird. So it could be just taking a long time for the bird to be reaching us, especially in this storm."

"I hope you're right Merlin. Hey, did you hear about those attacks on those towns recently?"

"Yes, actually, I have, and I have been trying to find out what could be causing these attacks." He walked up to a book shelf and pulled out a map of the local countryside.

"You see, the first attack appeared here, near Nobody Forest. Then they began to travel north and attack the villages in between the most recent attack, being Materia Village, and the Nobody Forest. Now I have noticed that the attacks form a path along this road here. Now, what do you make of it?" He was pointing at a path that all of the villages and towns were along.

"Hmm, do we know how they were destroyed?"

"Yes, actually, they were all destroyed to the point when there was nothing left but ashes. So the method of destruction would have to be fire."

"Well it couldn't be a natural fire, because that would have spread out in all directions. This destruction, however, does not; it goes in a straight line. If it were an army it would have to be absolutely massive."

"Yes, it would be; but for such a massive army there would have been remnants of their battle with the town, which there isn't."

"Right, you have a point there… It couldn't be orcs; this isn't their style, nor could it be drows; they're much more planned out - this seems too rash to be caused by them. I have no idea what we're dealing with!"

"Well, you see, there have been tracks found there about the same size of your sleeping mat. It appears whatever made the tracks had three frontal talons and it appeared to be reptilian in its other features."

I thought about this for a while, trying to think of a reptilian creature that was possibly bigger than this tower, and also left a fiery destruction when it left. I didn't even realize my jaw dropped when I realized what it was.

"No way! A DRAGON, IT'S A DRAGON! How the heck are we going to fight something like that? I thought they were all extinct!"

"Well, my dear, I have been doing some research on the dragons of old; and I have yet to find any type of dragon that would behave this way. In fact I have come to hypothesize that this dragon is looking for something. That is why I think that this is no normal dragon we're dealing with."

"Then what are we dealing with, Merlin?"

His face grew grim. "To be truthful, my dear, I have no idea. But considering its pattern from town to town; I would have to guess that this town is its next target."

My eyes were wide with shock. I couldn't believe the dragon was looking for something and destroyed every town it was in if it didn't find what it was looking for. My mind pushed my fears away, allowing logic to take charge.

"Do we know when the dragon will arrive?"

"Unfortunately, we do not; for all we know it could arrive in seven minutes or seven years."

I sighed, looking out into the storming night. I saw a flash of lightning; waiting for the thunder, I saw another flash of lightning; this time I thought I saw something. I couldn't make out what it was. Another flash. It was slightly larger now, but still small. I was able to make out what it was now.

"MERLIN!"

I heard Merlin jump from his chair and fall on the ground with a loud thud.

"What is it that has got you in such a state of panic, Merla?" Merlin asked me as he came over to the window I was by. I pointed out into the thundering night. Merlin followed my hand to see the dragon.

"…Merla, I want you to get your spell book and the rest of your belongings and run."

"What? Are you crazy? I'm not going to leave you to fight that thing alone!"

"MERLANA! This is no time to argue about this now! Now, get your things and GO!"

I cringed at the authority in his voice. He only used my full middle name when he meant business. I ran off to my room and gathered my things. My room was one floor below the study. I got a small travel pack, it was a gift from Merlin, and it was actually a magical pack. It could hold up to 100 pounds and make it feel like 15 pounds. I grabbed Fua Bur and jammed him into my pack along with my clothes and my sleeping mat. I grabbed my spell book as well, sticking it into my slipcase.

I turned around to leave when I heard a loud crash and the entire tower shook. I nearly fell but I caught myself. The crash sounded like it came from the study. I ran up the stairs. I first saw the thunder storm; then I saw that the three-story tower was now a two-story tower. Then I saw Merlin battling the dragon.

The dragon had huge leathery-like wings. It also had a huge body with a purple belly and black scales. Plus, it had green eyes. I had decided it would be best not to reveal my self yet.

"I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE HER!" Merlin hollered at the dragon.

I then heard the dragon respond in a sinister female voice, "Oh, really? Are you sure about that? You can't possibly control her or her power. Only a master could harness the very magic power within her. Oh, that's right, I am a master!"

"I would NEVER use my student in such a way!"

They were talking about me. Was I what the dragon was searching for?

Merlin began to speak again; I stayed where I was, "You shall not lay a claw on her! She is long gone by now!"

"Really, now, are you sure about that? Because I was tipped off by a village of elves that she was living here to learn how to control her power. You know what, elves aren't that tasty." She said, smiling.

I felt myself begin to sob uncontrollably. My entire home village was destroyed by this dragon. I covered my long ears as I felt the tears run down my face with the rain.

"You have done enough damage as it is! I aim to stop you here and now!"

The dragon reared its head to breathe fire; Merlin was still preparing a spell. He was also starting to tire out; he wasn't as young as he used to be. I ran out to him.

"Merlin! I don't want to lose you too!" I hollered through the rain and thunder.

Merlin then said to me, "MERLA, GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!"

He flung a spell at me as he spoke. I was being engulfed in a bright light. The last thing I saw before I was completely engulfed was the dragon breathing green fire at Merlin. Merlin couldn't do a thing to defend himself from the on coming flames. I closed my eyes and screamed.

My walk through memory lane ended there. I just couldn't stand the thought any more.

"Damn it, Merlin. Why did you have to die?" I asked myself as I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Who's Merlin?" I heard a tired Riku ask me.

"He is…was a friend. Go back to sleep Riku."

"Okay. Goodnight, _captor of my heart_."

"…What did you just say?" I asked as I made a funny face.

The sound of his snores reached my ears.

**POV****: Axel**

"Axel!"

I was in the library; damn this place to the Heartless. Reading is so boring.

I groaned, "What do you want, Maleficent? I'm busy!"

"Why wasn't I notified about the prisoners?!"

She barged into the library with an angry look on her face.

"Well, you never asked. Now leave me alone; go bother that Xehanort Heartless guy."

"Urgh! One of these days I shall kill you!" Maleficent charged back out of the library.

"Finally, some quiet. Now, maybe I can find out where this stupid flower is."

Well there's part I of Chapter 15. Sorry it took so long. I had a hard time writing Cloud's POV and sorry if Merlas is a bit long. I just want to make sure everyone understands what she has been through and why she travels and such. By the way if you're wondering what spell Merlin flung at Merla, it was a teleportation spell he saw her when she was hiding. just cause he's old doesn't mean he won't notice his pupil not leave when he told her to. I'm thinking of doing a sequel if you have any ideas for the next chapter or pt. 2 of ch 15 or the sequel please either email it or review. Speaking of which please do, they really help me get the chapter's done sooner. Well see you sooner hopefully.


	16. Hauntings of the Past Pt 2

Well hello peoples; and Happy New Year! I will try to update faster. In the mean time please read this chapter! I don't own anything except Merla.

_Think…think…think_

The first part had actually happened before the adventure began.

POV: Roxas

I was bowing to the lord of the Kingdom of Hearts; King Ansem the Wise.

"Rise warrior; do you know why you are here?"

I rose and stood straight showing respect to my king. "Yes your majesty. I know that I am here because you summoned me."

"You are correct. I have summoned you here because the princess is in need of an escort to and from Twilight village. She is needed to settle a dispute between two lords. If you accept this mission you shall be paid twenty thousand Munny. All you would need to do is to keep my daughter from coming to any harm whatsoever."

"If I may request some time to think of who I may take with me on this quest, your majesty?"

"Yes, please take your time. Now, I do hope that you shall have dinner with my daughter and I?"

"Your majesty, I would be honored to have dinner with you and the Princess."

It was shortly after this I heard the door behind me open. I turned to see who had entered.

"Naminé, how many times have I told you to at least knock before entering?"

I thought I was looking at a beautiful angel. She was wearing a white dress with white sandals. She had deep blue cerulean eyes, pale skin, and shoulder-length blonde hair. I felt my face begin to blush.

"I am sorry father, but I was told by a servant that I was summoned by you."

The king responded, "I did summon you; I want you to meet your guardian for the trip to Twilight Village. Princess Naminé, this is Sir Roxas."

He made a gesture to indicate me.

"Hello, Roxas."

I mentally shook myself. I could feel my face slightly blushing.

I then responded, "Hello, Princess Naminé."

There was a slight awkward silence after that.

The King broke the silence by saying, "Well, now that you two are acquainted with each other, I must get back to work. So you may wander around the castle if you wish. Just try not to get lost."

It was then that I bowed and thanked King Ansem the Wise, before I turned and left.

Within the time period of an hour and two hours, I had gotten myself lost within the seemingly endless corridors of the Radiant Garden Palace. I felt like an idiot (wouldn't you if you had to walk around in adventuring clothes).

"Urgh! Where am I?!"

The hallways all looked the same; grey brick, red carpet, small stained glass windows on the left and right, and also don't forget the wooden spruce, oak, and also redwood doors that span on the left and right.

I was becoming tired and frustrated as I wandered the halls aimlessly. It had to be nearly time for dinner. _I really hope that I'm not going to be late._

I was walking in the hallway and bored out of my mind.

Door…door…large door…door…window…door…library…door…

I ran back to the library thinking, 'There might just be someone in there!'

And there was someone in there; she was drawing.

She looked up from what she was doing when I came in.

"Oh, hello, Roxas. How are you doing?"

In truth I was panicking, I was panicking because here I am trying to find my room and instead I find the Princess in the library!

"Umm, I'm fine... Uh, just fine, Princess."

I saw her slightly tense up, and then she said in an ever so slightly irritated voice, "Roxas, please don't call me Princess. Please, just call me Naminé."

"Of course, Princess."

Naminé growled, "Roxas…"

"Sorry... Naminé."

She then smiled at that.

"So Roxas, why are you down here anyway?"

"Well, I uh... I got lost."

"Is that all? Well, it's nearly dinner time, so I'll lead you to your room."

"Thank you, Naminé."

She picked up her sketchbook and led me out of the library.

In my mind I was scolding myself, '_You IDIOT! Is saying __**'thanks' **__all you can do?! Say something nice about her! Ask her something! DO SOMETHING!'_

"Um, so what were you drawing back there in the library?"

"Hmm…I'm sorry, maybe I'll tell you some other time." Naminé responded.

I didn't know how to respond after that. An awkward silence followed after that.

This went on for a couple of minutes, until she came to a stop in front of a door.

She turned to me and said, "This is my room."

She walked towards the door that was across from her room.

_No way! No way, please say it isn't so!_

She stopped in front of the door that across from her and said, "This is your room."

"Um…thanks." I said, sounding uncertain, because I was sleeping in the room ACROSS from the Princess of the _entire _kingdom.

She calmly replied back, "You're welcome. I'll see you at dinner."

With that she turned and walked into her room. I turned to my room and went inside.

I saw in my room that there was a window on the wall across from the door. There was a nice bed to the right, and a big wardrobe on the left as well.

I found my supplies, gear and such, at the end of the bed. I felt very tired just from wandering the halls for what seemed to be hours on end. I knew that it was nearly time for dinner as well.

I sighed, thinking, _I can't wait for dinner, and I'm starved._

"Crap!" I yelled, realizing something slightly important.

"I don't know the first thing about fine dining!"

I lay down on the bed; trying to think of a plan for how to survive dinner.

I then heard a knock on the door.

"Roxas it's almost time for dinner. Let's go!" I heard Naminé say.

"Umm…okay. Uh... hang on."

I got up ran to the wardrobe, opened it up, and found some nice dinner clothes. I put them on, and ran to the door. I opened it up to find Naminé standing outside of it.

"I'm ready. Let's go."

"Right this way."

I followed her towards what could possibly be one my worst dinners ever.

Dinner was a disaster. Well—not so much as it could have been. Naminé helped me get through it; I still think I made a fool of myself.

I was now in my room trying to fall asleep. My mind was a whirlwind. It was filled with thoughts of who I would bring with me for the protection of Naminé, how much of a disaster dinner was, and more thoughts of Naminé.

I then thought that maybe if I took a walk that I could calm my mind. So, I got up and put on a shirt and some boots (I was already wearing pants).

I began to wander around the castle aimlessly.

I walked around for what seemed to be five minutes. When my feet stopped I was in front of the palace garden.

It was quite beautiful. It was also raining. I was surprised because when I left my room it was just cloudy out.

I then heard footsteps through the rain. They were heavy strong footsteps; they had purpose.

I turned toward the sound of the footsteps when they stopped. Standing there was a woman a head taller than me. She had long black hair; she also had intense brown eyes. She was wearing a black shirt, black shorts, and a black jacket tied around her waist. I also noticed that she had leather gloves on her hands.

She dropped down into a fighting stance and then she leapt at me. I only had enough time to just barely dodge her punch to my face.

I could only dodge away as she chased after me. She had landed quite a few good hits on me. It was after a minute or so of taking the bruising that I decided to fight back.

We were situated so that I was up against the wall across from the entrance into the gardens. She was running towards me; I ducked down. Her punch caused a crack in the wall in behind me. I think that was meant to finish me off. I then tackled her into the garden. As we landed in the garden, she kneed me in the gut.

I let go and grasped the new wound in pain. I could feel the rain pound on me.

She was up again; she had a minor wound from my tackle.

I was still getting up when she asked, "Who are you?"

I was in pain from all the bruises I had, plus a black eye. I was still trying to fully stand.

"I'll ask again, who are you?"

It was then that I was able to stand up enough to at least look her in the eye. The rain had died down to a soft drizzle.

"Fine then if that's how you're going to be—"

"Roxas; my name is Roxas. Who are you?"

"I'm Tifa. At least I get to know the name of my opponent this time."

I didn't get any time to ask anything as she leapt at me again.

I felt the adrenaline rush through me, giving me new energy. I charged her.

I brought my fist up to punch her.

As we were about to meet I saw a flash of metal, like a small knife, no later then a nanosecond had I heard…

KABOOM!!!

I saw a bright flash of light and after that everything went black.

I woke up to find my self quite close to being blind and practically deaf.

It had hurt to see, everything was a bright blur; my hearing was dulled to a near roaring silence.

I couldn't hear the door open when the king came in. I was able to see the movement of the door swinging open.

I could just barely make out the figures of Ansem and Naminé.

It had hurt to sit up at all, so it was difficult to greet them.

"Well, Roxas, it would seem like you are probably one of the luckiest people in this castle.

Would you mind telling me what happened?"

They were at my bedside now, still quite blurry.

"Well-" my voice hoarse, probably from the thunder, "it started when I couldn't get any sleep. So I took a walk to see if I could blow off any steam. I had arrived at the palace garden. It was storming; I was then attacked by this crazy assassin—"

It was at this point that Ansem and Naminé had ducked down to avoid the incoming vase.

I however was not quite as lucky as a big medical book came hurtling at me. It had bonked me hard enough to see stars.

"I am NOT an assassin! You stupid mercenary!" yelled a surprising yet familiar voice.

"Oh no, please tell me that a woman named Tifa is not in here as well?" I groaned out.

"Well, we would be lying if we did, Roxas." Naminé said to me.

The king followed up with, "I feel that I must apologize for not telling you this early Roxas; Tifa is the Royal Family Guardian, as well as the captain of the royal guard."

I then practically yelled out, "Then why did she attack me!?"

Ansem answered, "She likes to…'test'… any warriors that come to the castle that are not royalty."

I just groaned.

I then heard the door bang open. I looked over at the door and saw it was still closed.

I heard an evil witch like voice say, "Wake up, you pathetic curs!"

Everyone and everything faded away as I awoke. But, not before Naminé had said, "See you soon. And help your friends. Alright?" and waved good-bye.

I nodded my head in reply.

Her face seemed to have a sad smile as it faded away.

POV: Riku

I was about to fall back asleep after I had asked Merla who Merlin was, when I heard,

"Wake up, you pathetic curs!"

I looked up to see a woman dressed in black and purple robes. She had in her right hand a staff with a green orb on it. She had on a strange headpiece that made it look like she had two horns on her head. She also had pale green skin with pale green eyes to match.

POV: Merla

I was still contemplating what Riku had said to me, when I heard a voice that had plagued my thoughts for many years after Merlin had died.

"Wake up, you pathetic curs!"

It was the voice of the dragon. The murderer was out of my sight but in the same dungeon as me.

But the mere voice had awakened a fear within me. This fear was that born from the knowledge that the murderer of your family and friends was in the same room as you. With it, however, came anger.

POV: Riku

I asked, "What do you want? Can't you see we're trying to sleep?"

She cast a glare at me. I then saw here eyes light up as pointed her staff at me.

I suddenly felt pain. It was like it wasn't in any specific place on my body; it was just there. She must have cast a spell. I had then leapt up in pain.

I began to scream.

"I am the Dark Sorceress Maleficent. I can do whatever I want to anyone who defies my will."

"Leave him alone!" I heard Roxas yell through my screams.

She pointed a finger at Roxas and then he was screaming in pain as well.

She began to laugh at our cries of pain.

"STOP IT!" I heard the desperate voice of Merla shout out.

To my surprise, Maleficent stopped. She walked toward the cell that Merla was in.

It was as soon as she had stopped that Roxas and I had slumped to the ground panting.

POV: Merla

I had yelled out when I saw that both Riku and Roxas were yelling out in pain. I was about to scream when Roxas had yelled out.

I saw the smiling face of Maleficent come into view.

I shuffled away from her in fear.

"Well, well, well, isn't this just a grand coincidence? I believe I've not seen you since that wretched wizard had cast that teleportation spell on you twenty-one years ago."

I just brought my knees up, wrapped my arms around them, and buried my head in them.

I hadn't noticed but I was beginning to cry.

I also hadn't noticed that Maleficent was grinning wickedly as she also began to cast a dark spell.

POV: Riku

I had seen what Maleficent was doing and I was NOT going to let her hurt Merla. It sounded like Merla had been through enough as it is.

"MERLA!" I charged the metal bars with all of my might.

BANG!

"Merla!" I heard Roxas yell as well.

The metal of my armor only enhanced the sound.

I was unable to draw Maleficent's attention to me.

POV: Merla

I looked up just in time to see Maleficent about to cast her spell on me. I dug my head back into my knees and wrapped my hands around my head.

I expected an attack, burning, pain, anything but nothing came.

I looked up to see a Nobody that had two swords, a silver/grey robe, and helmet. One of its swords was drawn and at Maleficent's throat.

It was practically daring Maleficent to finish casting the spell. I was quite surprised. Why was Nobody defending me?

Maleficent canceled the spell and turned to walk away. The Nobody had disappeared. She paused before leaving, "I will have your power, _Elf._"

She left me, Riku, and Roxas to go plot on how to obtain my power with out a Nobody at her throat.

It was silent for a little while after that.

"Merla, what is going on?" I heard Roxas ask me.

"…"

"Merla are you alright?" Riku asked.

I was beginning to cry again.

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine." Riku said seeing right through my mask.

"It's just that I had the unfortunate luck of meeting the killer of my master…"

"And who was your master?" Roxas asked me.

"It was Merlin, wasn't it?" Riku asked me.

I nodded my head and hummed an 'uh-huh'.

"Merla what happened?" Riku inquired.

I took a deep breath trying to calm myself.

"Ok, it all started when I was young…"

And I told them my story of how I discovered my wild magic and how I became a wizard.

Well that's it for now. Sorry that it took forever to update my beta and I've been busy. I will also be getting a back up beta if you want to beta this story let me know via email or the fanfic messaging system. Well see ya next time!!

PS this chapter was beta read by KawaiiNoXemmy. SimpleNClean92 will be busy for a while and in the mean time I've found a replacement.


	17. Are you ready?

I am sorry for the wait but I got really busy after the last update. School; Thank GOD for summer. Any way the usual disclaimer I don't own anything except for Merla.

P.S. I am Grogert331 and you'll hate me by the end of this chapter.

Are You Ready?

POV Sora

"Leon tell me why we have to be up before the sun?" I yawned.

The sky is still a pale purple from the black night brightening slightly in the early sun.

"Sora I told you already we have to be up early so that we can make sure that the villagers and the Princess are all accounted for in and in the town center."

"But come on, at 6 in the morning?" I complained rubbing my eyes.

Leon sighed as he rubbed his temples in an annoyed manner; I think Leon was the only real morning person other than Roxas.

"How do you think Roxas is doing?" I asked.

Leon looked at me straight in the eye and said, "In truth I don't know. But, I hope that he's alive and on his way back here right now."

"Yeah, I just hope that we live to see him come back."

"Who are you guy's talking about?" I turned my head to see Hayner.

Hayner was wearing chainmail with a sword buckled at his side. He had a pretty thick gauntlet on his left hand. He looked at us curiously.

Leon responded, "Roxas is the one who went to get the cure for the Princess. He brought Riku along, and met up with a wizard named Merla. He-"

"Wait a wizard named Merla? Does she sneeze fireballs?"

We nodded our heads in surprise. I asked, "How did you know that?"

"We met a long time ago, before I was even a cadet in the king's army."

I was interested, "Sounds like an interesting story. Mind telling it?"

"Some other time maybe; but right now we need to get the soldiers on the walls. All of the villagers and the Princess are safe in the town center with a small squad of militia and a couple of soldiers there, in case the wall is breeched."

"Good, now make sure that all archer's and crossbowmen have enough bolts and arrows to last a quarter of a fortnight and that they have tower shields to counter enemy ranged attacks. Sora, go check and see if the healers need any extra protection and tell them to be ready to bunker down in case of a breech."

"Yes sir!" I said as I attempted a salute.

Hayner just left with a nod.

POV: Leon

I am nervous. What am I thinking, trying to command an entire army? Well at least I have help…speaking of which.

"Where in the Underworld is Cloud?! He was supposed to be here an hour ago!" I yelled.

I then heard a big yawn behind me.

"Sorry I'm late."

I turned my head to see Cloud and his huge sword strapped to his back. How can he carry that thing? It must be made of a pretty light metal in order for him to carry it around so easily. Perhaps it was made of mithral or titanium.

"It's about time the second-in-command got here. I need you to check on the traps outside the walls; make sure that they're well hidden, start with the furthest and work towards the wall."

He nodded his unnaturally spiked blonde hair in confirmation and walked off.

I pulled out a small piece of paper listing the various defenses for the town.

_Archers and crossbowmen_

_Traps_

_Boil oil_

_Villagers & Princess safe_

"Hey Leon, I got a fresh supply of ass-whoopin' for those damn cretins." I heard a gruff voice say behind me.

I turned to see Cid in front of wagons that contained boxes labeled 'CAUTION FIREWORKS'. On the wagons were warnings, 'NO FLAMES'.

"The fireworks arrived; good set them up near the wall." I replied.

"Hey listen; I've a damn good spear arm and ya' could always use 'nother spear."

"I'm aware of that but-"

"Don't ya' DARE tell me I'm too OLD sonny. I still got enough in me to kick some ass!"

I sighed, '_He's too stubborn; I don't need this early in the morning._'

"Fine just help the militia set up the fireworks; then you decide where you're needed the most."

Cid nodded his thanks and set off.

"HEY LEON!!" howled a certain injured ninja.

I sighed, _'Why me?'_

I looked toward Yuffie. She lightly limped towards me.

"Yuffie, what are you doing here? You should be at the Town Center with the townsfolk."

"Oh stop being such a worry-warrior; you'll get warts if you stress out so much!"

I sent a, 'I'm not joking around; why are you here?' sort of look.

"Fine fine calm down, Mr. Grim and Dim. I just came here to say good luck to you…and to make a little bet with you."

I may have been grim and dim most of the time; but I'm not one to pass up a good wager.

"…what are the terms?"

"Riku and Merla in 5 days…Kiss."

I smirked, "You're on; 1000 Munny."

"Sure, but if I win, you have to take me out to a restaurant of my choosing."

"…Say what?"

"A restaurant of my choice"

"I know that but…why?"

POV: Yuffie

"Because"

Leon gestured for me to continue, "Because…"

I smirked, '_I have him right where I want him. Hehehe'_

"Hmm…maybe I'll tell you after the battle or after I win the wager."

Leon sighed, "Fine just; go to the Town Center and stay there."

"Ok see ya later alligator."

I winked at him as I lightly limped away.

POV: Merla

I wiped some tears from my eyes.

"After I was sent away by M-Merlin; I-I figured that the dragon would still be after me. I-I ran—I ran away like a coward." I felt more tears begin to form.

"Merla…You aren't a coward. There's no way you could've fought off that dragon. Maleficent was probably ready to fight you." Roxas responded.

I sniffled a little; wiping my tears.

"So you moved from city to city?" Riku asked changing the subject.

"I think that's the best option; a city's big and populated it can be difficult to find someone. Remember in Hallow Bastion, there were at least 5 wanted signs of Merla on every street corner." Roxas answered.

I took a deep breath as I snuffed down my sobs.

I heard the door open up.

"Good morning I do hope that the prisoners are doing well today." I heard a soft male voice say.

I edged near the bars to get a better look.

The new visitor was wearing a black coat much like the one that Riku and Roxas wore when we first met.

"I just thought it might be good if you had some breakfast. You must be starving, any preferences?"

Riku replied first, "How about some beacon and eggs?"

He shook his ragged pink haired head. Wait just a second, PINK?! 'And I thought Riku's silver hair was weird.'

"I'm sorry all out of meat, dairy, and grain foods; only fruits and veggies."

Roxas then said, "I'll have 2 oranges then."

"I'll have a banana and an apple." Riku answered.

The pink haired man turned his head to me, awaiting my answer.

"Um-uh I'll have…" I don't really trust this guy; I mean he's wearing the same cloak as the guy with crazy red hair. "…I like apples please." I responded.

He snapped his gloved fingers. To my surprise a plant began to grow rapidly right outside my cell.

What grew outside my cell was a little tree with apples in it.

"Merla," the pink man said, "I'm sorry if Maleficent caused you any grief. She won't be bothering you any longer."

My mind was reeling; I've traveled around a lot. But, I would definitely remember meeting a pink haired man, which I haven't.

"How do you know my name?! Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry how rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself; I am Marluxia, The Graceful Assassin. And you'll all hate me by the end of this visit."

I took hold of the apple. I made some mental notes about Marluxia as I took a bite.

Pinky was a very interesting man. He had a very lithe body yet his shoulders said he was strong as though he carried, or wielded, something that required two-hands; like a gardening rake or a sickle.

POV: Roxas

I don't like Marluxia; he's been kind to us so far. But, that just may be so he can get on our good side. I took hold of the orange right outside my small cell. I listened to Marluxia as I peeled the orange.

"I hope everyone is comfortable because this is going to be an interesting morning. I'm going to ask you a couple of questions." His voice lost its gentleness; it was foreboding.

Marluxia continued, "My first couple of questions are simple; where did you come from and why come through Nobody Forest?"

I paused in my peeling, 'those were the first questions Axel asked me! Why would he ask these questions if Axel already asked me? ...Maybe Axel didn't tell him. But why, what does Axel have to gain? I should just play along for now.'

I answered before Riku or Merla could.

"We come from Hallow Bastion. We came to Nobody Forest because it is the quickest way to a village north of here."

I hope that the others catch on to my ruse.

Marluxia raised an eyebrow at my answer, "And just why are you going to this village in the North? What is its name?" He was daring me to answer again.

"We're heading north because I need the blessing from Merla's parents, for our marriage." Riku replied surprisingly smooth.

POV: Merla

I was in mid-swallow when Riku answered, "We're heading north because I need the blessing from Merla's parents, for our marriage."

_WHAT?!_

I choked on my food.

Everyone turned their gaze towards me.

"Sweetie, are you okay?"

_Oh, so that's what's going on._

"Yes dear, I'm fine. But, do you have to be so blatant about our engagement! I'd rather not tell everyone meet."

"Sorry Honey. By the way what is the name of the village, I forget."

"The name is Shasael Shyr darling, Shasael Shyr."

Everyone silently stared at me like I grew a third arm or something.

Roxas broke the silence, "What?"

"Oops, my bad I forgot you don't speak Elvin; Warden Wood."

"Anyway, if you're engaged then what is he here for?" Sir Pinky inquired.

"He's my cousin; he's going to be my best man at the wedding and he's our guardian." Riku replied quickly.

"Hmm…if that's so then I'm sure that you won't mind telling me why you're all looking for a Heart Blossom that is located in this forest, which will cure certain type of paralysis caused by a monster native to a small lake southwest of here? Also inform me why it just so happens that the princess is paralyzed by this same monster…is this just a mere coincidence?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

None of us could say anything; he knew all along. He was just toying with us as we answered his questions trying to hide the mission from him.

"Merla have you ever heard of Kingdom Hearts?" Marluxia questioned me.

I gave a slight pause as I searched my minds library for anything on kingdom hearts.

"It's supposed to the place where hearts are created and destroyed…including the hearts of the worlds….And it can only be reached if the Door is opened by ….the Seven Princess' of Light. Am I right?"

"Yes, you are correct…for the most part. There is another way, a much…darker way to get into Kingdom Hearts. Are you aware of that?"

"I didn't study necromancy if that's what you're referring to. "

POV: Roxas

What other method is he talking about?

"Think about it…why send thousands of Heartless to Traverse village when there are plenty of people with hearts in Hallow Bastion?" Marluxia smirked at me.

I gazed at Marluxia with confusion in my eyes.

"Come on its really simple…What if I just needed one princess to reach Kingdom Hearts? What if to open the Door I just need one minor sacrifice?" His voice dripped with malicious sweetness, like a thorn of a rose.

My thoughts immediately went to the picture in the white room.

"NO!" I launched myself against the cell bars. My armor collided with the metal bars.

CLANG

The clang of metal jolted Merla and Riku; but it didn't faze Marluxia.

Marluxia's smirk grew to a vicious grin, "Now you understand. Why don't tell those betrothed of your innovation, Roxas?"

"I won't let you use Naminé as a sacrifice!" I screamed at him.

I glared at him with a hate that could've made hell go cold.

Marluxia simply gazed back at me with a malevolent grin.

"I told you, you would hate me by the end of this visit"

POV: Riku

I couldn't believe how sick this guy was; using a human being as a sacrifice.

"Well I think it's high time I took my leave, sayonara."

I glanced over to where Roxas was; his face conveyed pure hatred and anger.

I was silent until Marluxia's footsteps faded into silence.

"Merla,"

"Yes dear?"

"I need you to do two things: first don't call me 'dear' again. Second, you're allergic to bananas, right?"

"What does this have to do with anything? Naminé's in trouble!" Roxas howled at me.

"Roxas; shut up; listen and you'll find out."

"Yeah I'm allergic to bananas; why do you ask?"

"I need you to eat this banana then."

"…"

"…"

"What?" I asked confused about their silence.

"I still don't see how this resolves anything." Roxas grumbled.

"Merla you remember when you sneezed when we first got here right?"

"Yeah, I made a small hole in the wall. What's the big deal?"

"The deal is you said that at times your sneezes weren't all exploding, that they differed at times. What if your allergies caused different kinds of sneezing?" I explained my theory.

Roxas' jaw was agape, "Riku, where did you get that idea?"

"I remembered Merla mentioning that she sneezed that she expelled her wild magic. So I thought maybe we can use that to use that to our advantage. And when Pinky offered some fruit and veggies I remembered Merla's allergies."

POV: Merla

I thought about my allergies as well; except I avoided them out of reflex.

"Riku, that is pure genius."

Roxas nodded in agreement.

I reached through the bars and grabbed the banana.

"The last time I had a banana I think I was like 3 years old in elfish years."

"Sooo how old is that in human years?" Riku asked.

"…"

"Riku…you're an idiot."

"Come on Merla hurry up and eat the banana! We need to get out of here! We need to get to Naminé!"

"I know, I know! I'm just not sure that the wild magic will be able to break us free."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm not sure that whatever I sneeze will blast the cell doors wide open or make a teeny hole in the wall. That's why it's called Wild Magic; it's unstable, unpredictable."

"We have to take that chance if we're going to get out of here."

I peeled the banana. '_I haven't really seen a banana in decades! Well here goes my breakfast.'_

I took a bite, '_Oh yeah that's right; I hate banana!'_

I forced myself to chew down the pale yellow pasty fruit.

_BLEGH!_

"So, Merla when will you start to sneeze?"

"I don't know when or what I will start to sneeze; it could be minutes or hours until then."

Riku spoke up, "Well I hope you'll sneeze soon because the Heartless are getting closer to the princess as we speak."

POV: Cloud

I see the forest; it's mapped in yellow-eyed darkness. The heartless are waiting at the edge of the forest; it may as well be the curtain before the finale.

General Sephiroth steps out of the shadows of his army. His sword, Masamune; the sword that took away Zack my best friend also the blade he swore to use to slay Aerith; is strapped to his belt.

I focus my sight and my hatred right towards him. I glower at him.

From the corner of my eye, another exits the eerie veil of the Heartless.

POV: Leon

A blue haired man entered the morning light. He is dressed simply in a black coat. I see his eyes are cold hard and staring straight at me.

Sephiroth bellowed, "I am General Sephiroth of the Heartless Army. I come before you with a proposition, if you surrender now you may live to see another sunrise. If you fight all of you will die."

Ah cliffhangers ya gotta hate'em; oh and I told you you would hate me by the end of this chapter. I'll try to get the next chapter soon. See Ya! R & R!!!


	18. Shadows of War

Disclaimer: Need I really go into details? No I don't.

POV: 3rd Person

Sephiroth called out, "I am General Sephiroth of the Heartless Army. I come before you with a proposition, if you surrender now some of you may live to see another sunrise. If you fight all of you will die."

"Well I'm pretty sure some of us will die." Hayner spoke up, "But, I know that it will be worth it because we will die defending this town and its inhabitants from darkness. That sounds like a cause pretty damn worth dying for."

"Well then if that's what you think" Sephiroth chuckled, "prepare to die."

The dark army dotted with yellow eyes charged forward.

POV: Leon

"Here they come! Archers at the ready!"

I heard the draw backs of the bow strings around me.

"Aim!"

I held my left hand up waiting to give the signal.

The heartless were a little bit different from what Yuffie described them as. Instead of being waist high they came up to my shoulder. Their weaponry was that of a sword attached to their right arm instead of claws. They were covered in a bland grey armor.

"FIRE!"

I see hundreds of arrows fly over me.

The horde of arrows rain down on the Heartless.

The arrows whistled through the air and pierced the enemy.

Suddenly many of them disappeared in a black mist.

POV: Sora

"Huh? What happened to the Heartless?"

No sooner than when I asked that question did a bunch of pink/red crystalline like hearts float up to the sky.

"Whoa that's cool."

I turned my thoughts back towards the battle at hand.

I watched as more heartless came to replace the many that fell. They were nearing a lone bush.

I saw that they were approaching the marker's I had set up. I signaled toward Hayner.

Hayner nodded and pointed one the archer's toward the marker. The bowman fiddled with an arrow for a couple of seconds and lit it on fire. He then aimed for the bush and fired.

The heartless had just crossed the bush as the flaming projectile set it aflame.

Within a couple of seconds the heartless were roasted as the fire spread across the field.

"And Leon said it was a bad idea to use oil." I chuckled to myself.

I then saw that some of the heartless were charging straight through the inferno.

"Oh…so that's why it's a bad idea."

Now there was flaming heartless charging towards us.

POV: Siax

I stood at the edge of the forest watching the Heartless charge through every obstacle.

My eyes were on the battle but my thoughts were elsewhere.

_How did I come to be here? Why couldn't I protect my village,_ _Shasael Shyr? I was their chief! And I failed. I failed my village, my duty, my wife, and my daughter. I know she wasn't there when Maleficent attacked… I got to where I am because of the love for my daughter. I will find Clarice and-_

Sephiroth spoke up cutting off my thoughts, "Send in the behemoths."

"Gladly"

I snapped my fingers.

POV: Cloud

_We're doing pretty well, but something isn't right; we should be having more trouble with them. _

I suddenly saw something moving through the trees; something huge.

ROOAARRR

It roared whatever it was, as it emerged from the forest.

It was huge it stood as tall as the wall was; when it was on all fours. It looked something like a purple bull crossed with a lavender gorilla Heartless. It had three horns, one on its head and the other two like upside down tusks of an elephant.

I saw three others emerge from the forest.

I muttered, "Crap"

POV: Riku

"Hey Merla-"

"No"

"Oh come one I didn't even ask you anything yet!"

"I know but I also knew what you were going to ask."

Roxas spoke up, "It's been about three hours since Merla ate the banana. I think we should try something else."

"What can we do? We have no tools to be able to do anything truly effective against the bars! But wait there's more! There's also an anti-magic field so Merla can't cast spells! What can we do?!"

POV Roxas

"…" I couldn't answer; I didn't know how to answer.

"How about saying please?" a familiar cocky voice asked.

I looked up to see a flare of red hair.

"Axel! What-"

"Before you start pelting me with questions; let me answer them. Yes I didn't tell Marluxia about our little talk. Why you ask; because of personal benefits. Yes I'm here to bust y'all out o' here. Again why; because I can. Anymore questions? No? Okay let's go!"

Axel then summoned his chakrams and proceeded to open the cell doors by destroying the lock. As he did this he continued his tirade, "Come on lets go, we don't have much time."

As he opened her door, Merla spoke up by asking, "Why should we trust you? You captured Riku and me, and threw us in here."

"Because if you don't then the princess and everyone you know is doomed." Axel busted Riku's door.

Riku piped up, "We still need our equipment if we're gonna do anything."

"It's right here." He answered, dismissed his weapons to snap his fingers.

Our equipment fell right in front of us. Merla picked up a short sword and her bag of holding. Riku strapped his long sword to his belt.

When I grasped the hilt of my sword, I was blinded and closed my eyes on reflex from the sudden brightness coming from it.

_Keyblade_

When I finally opened my eyes I saw in my hands not my sword, but a giant KEY. The blade and teeth of the key were silver, the rain guard is blue, and the hilt is gold colored.

Axel looked at me with his trademark smirk.

Riku stared in confusion at my weapon.

Merla gazed in wonder at the key.

My mind was racked with confusion; I asked, "What the hell just happened?"

POV: Merla

I answered, "The Keyblade, a legendary weapon said to be the bane of the Heartless and the Nobodies, a weapon of the light. It is also said that the Keyblade has the power to lock or unlock anything. It is said that-"

"That the Keyblade chooses its master based on the strength of their heart. So you're the chosen one? Kinda scrawny for a Keyblade wielder, hope you can handle all that power Roxas."

"What are you talking about Axel?"

Axel shook his head, "Never mind, c'mon lets go. We're short on time as it is. The princess should be here soon."

POV Leon

"Is the oil ready yet?!" I demanded in a loud voice towards the captain.

"Yes sir the oil is positioned over the beasts head awaiting your command."

"Dump it NOW!"

"Yes sir, DUMP THE OIL!" the captain ordered.

I watched the oil sizzle straight onto the behemoth's head. The creature roared in pain.

"Prepare more oil." I commanded.

The creature hammered its head against the stone wall continuing its assault.

POV Siax

"Sephiroth, don't forget the objective." I reminded him.

"I know…send in the Shadows." He raised his arm up straight towards the sky.

From his arms came wispy black tendrils that reached out to the sky. The battlefield was darkened by the storm clouds that appeared from the dark tendrils.

I smiled as I snapped my fingers once more.

I sent in the little shadows to fulfill the mission.

POV Yuffie

I sat next to the princess, plus the villagers, listening to the battle rage outside. I saw a flash through the window. The familiar rumble of thunder rolled through.

Cid spoke up saying, "Hmm ain't supposed to rain today. Ain't the season."

He was leaning against his spear. He was guarding us along with four of the kings' soldiers against any possible sneak attack.

I closed my eyes and sighed.

_I hope this ends soon_

When I opened my eyes what I saw six heartless; one of them right in front of me. Two creepy yellow eyes stared at me with a feral look in its eyes; black antennas dangled on its head. Its body twitched as it materialized in front of me. It turned its yellow gaze to me.

"AAAHHHH!!"

POV: Leon

The behemoths are very hardy; so far only two out of five of the juggernauts have been able to destroy. Some of the heartless had climbed up to the wall by using the behemoths; they were dispatched of easily by the various infantry on top of the wall.

_What is going on? I would've expected more casualties on our side, based on the description Merla gave us: the Heartless are supposed to be a relentless and nearly unstoppable force of darkness, so why does it seem like they're holding back?_

A shrill and familiar shriek reached my ears, "AAAHHHH!!"

"Yuffie!" I turned towards Cloud, "Take command until I get back!"

He nodded as I took off towards the Town Center.

POV: Yuffie

Cid along with the soldiers engaged the heartless. The towns folk were beginning to panic, I was too.

_What the Hell is a Heartless doing in the Town center?!_

I edged myself away from the indoor skirmish. The heartless were really fighting! They were all brawling with the warriors like cold-blooded beasts, Heartless. It struck me why the ancients chose to call them Heartless; it's the way they stalk their prey; the way they attack on instincts with their claws. They hunted for hearts; stalked their chosen prey; waited for the opportune moment, and then they struck. It didn't matter whether they were alone or in a group; they struck without mercy or hesitation; a true predator. I then realized something; there were five Shadows fighting Cid and the soldiers; where was the sixth one?

"Yuffie!" I heard from the doorway leading out to the doorway.

I turned my head to see Leon standing at the entrance, "Leon!"

POV: Leon

I began to move towards her, however I spotted a sixth Shadow.

It looked ready to pounce; I yelled, "Yuffie, Get Down!"

She dove forward faster than I thought possible in her state. I raised my gun blade; I muttered a small incantation, "_Ixen!"_

I felt a small amount of energy leave me. Sword sages are trained for this; for the fusion of magic and the sword. A small ball of fire shot out of it.

The ball of fire was about the size of my head. It sailed through the air towards the Shadow.

The Shadow flew over Yuffie; the fire ball pursued it.

Yuffie turned herself around to see what was happening.

The Shadow landed right on the spot where Yuffie had been sitting moments ago, right next to the princess; the fire ball was almost upon the Shadow.

It flattened itself into darkness onto the floor. As it flattened itself the fire ball flew right over its head, straight into the wall.

"NO!" I ran up to the shade and struck the flat pooled shadow. The shadow seemed unaffected the stab; it spread itself out, far enough to engulf Naminé.

Then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone and so was the Shadow.

Yuffie muttered, "…No…we failed…"

"That must have been their motive all along: secure and kidnap the princess."

"Leon, wh- what do we do now?"

I stood silent at the question, ". . . Prepare the inner-defenses; we're about to be breached."

Sorry it took me forever to get this chapter up life got in the way; college, studying, family, etc. You know the story. I'll be busy for the next couple of weeks so I'll work on the next chappie when I can. Until then C ya!


End file.
